Safe Haven
by LovePink88
Summary: "Have you been home?" Neji's gaze immediately turned to her as she looked up from her work. They both knew what she meant. "I am home," he returned before turning away again.
1. Chapter 1

There was someone in the house.

That was Tenten's first conscious thought after being roused awake by something she could not quite place. There was no sound, nothing to indicate that she was not alone, but still she knew someone was there. Years of training and living alone were not forgotten as she reached slowly between the mattress edge and bed frame to retrieve one of her kunai. She was facing towards the window with the bedroom doorway at her back and dared not risk turning in case the intruder realised she was awake.

"It's me."

Tenten's strangle hold on the kunai released and she rolled onto her other side as Neji's shadow slowly detached itself from the darkness outside her doorway.

"You scared me," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. Something didn't feel right, there was a hesitation in his posture as he remained standing on the other side of her room. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing," Neji dropped his pearly gaze to the floor in a rare show of embarrassment and uncertainty, "I...can I stay?"

Tenten sat up and eyed him suspiciously for a moment. Dressed in his ANBU uniform, his mask probably discarded with his boots at her front door, he cut quite an impressive figure. With his above average height, broad shoulders and leanly muscled body he could be quite imposing when he wanted, but without his characteristic coolness and standing almost defeatedly in her doorway, all Tenten felt like doing was throwing her arms around him.

"Of course," she slid out of bed and reached for her black silk robe on the chair in the corner. Neji made no move to turn away or stop her, he simply watched as she tied the sash and moved past him into the hallway, turning briefly to ask, "do you want tea?"

Neji simply nodded and followed her out into the kitchen, leaning against the counter as he tiredly watched her move about the room. A few minutes later he was sitting at her dining table with tea and the warmed leftovers of the evening's meal while Tenten sat across from him, one leg folded beneath her as she assessed him over the top of her mug.

"How was your mission?"

"Hn," was his evasive response as he sipped at the tea, feeling the warmth finally begin to spread through his tired, battered body again.

"Fine," she sighed as she set the mug down and rose to find him fresh clothes and a towel. He looked like he needed a good shower and probably had a few cuts and scrapes that would require dressing before he got some rest. If he didn't want to talk about it now then she would wait until he did. And he would, he always eventually told her.

"Ten, wait, " she turned suddenly at his affectionately shortened use of her name, just as his hand reached out to catch hers and halt her departure. He looked suddenly exhausted then, and his shoulders sagged in defeat as he pulled her gently onto his lap. He sighed and dropped his head to her shoulder, effectively shielding his facial expression as he whispered quietly, "I lost one."

Tenten sat in stilled confusion for a moment before the meaning of his words clicked in her head. He had lost his first ninja as an ANBU captain. It was bound to happen eventually, despite all his skill and preparation, but he apparently felt responsible for it. When she thought about it, this was probably the first time Neji had lost a team member on any mission he had been a part of. There had been life threatening injuries and lots of near misses, but in all the time he had been on Team Gai, and his subsequent promotion to ANBU, there had never been a death on one of his teams.

Tenten shifted herself to straddle his thighs, allowing her to face him straight on as she took his head in both of her hands. "I'm sorry, Neji" she rubbed her thumbs soothingly across his cheeks, "but it isn't your fault, I'm sure there was nothing more any of you could have done."

Neji nodded, dropping his head back to her shoulder again, before lifting it to look her over longingly. Three months was a long time - he didn't want his first night back with her to be miserable.

"I missed you," his hands settled on her waist as he said it, fingers unconsciously running over the silky fabric in a circular motion as his lips found her neck.

Tenten grinned softly as she pressed her hands flat against his chest, "I missed you too. Without you here I spend all my time training with Lee."

Neji made a slight frown at that as he imagined her bowing to Lee and Gai's will and joining their spandex-wearing, leg-warmer toting duo. While his imagination was conjuring these awful ideas, Tenten leaned in to press a kiss to his right cheek before attempting to climb off his lap,

"Come on, you need a shower. Probably some medical attention too."

Neji pulled her back down with a slight shake of his head, "I can wait, they're no more than scratches. Unless you want to come with me?" his salaciously cheeky smirk was something only Tenten ever witnessed and it never failed to elicit a blush from her.

"Neji," she admonished as she deftly extricated herself from his grip, "go on." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and turned away. "I'll get the first aid kit."

Twenty minutes later, after his first hot shower in almost three months, Neji emerged from Tenten's ensuite bathroom with a fluffy brown towel wrapped around his hips to find a long-sleeved grey shirt and old pair of loose cotton pants he wore to meditate lying on the end of the bed. As he was doing up the waist tie on the pants, Tenten wandered through the door carrying a box full of bandages and antiseptic creams and other items Neji couldn't immediately identify. She settled it on the end of the bed and gestured for him to sit down.

"Humor me," was her response to his raised eyebrows, and so he moved to sit cross legged in the middle of the bed while she positioned herself on his left side. Cool fingers worked their way over his bare chest, pressing and testing. He was right, there were no injuries that needed significant attention but he was still pretty scratched and beaten so Tenten figured it was better to be safe than sorry as she moved around him and rubbed the cuts over with an antiseptic wash.

The only real issue was the great bruise down the right side of his body that looked relatively recent. It was still a deep purple colour and the way he winced when she touched it made her wonder if he hadn't bruised a couple of ribs as well. She didn't miss the long scar down the back of his right shoulder, a reminder of how close he came to not coming back after an A rank mission gone wrong eighteen months earlier. Luckily, Shikamaru's quick thinking saved both Neji and the mission. The two men had been good friends ever since.

"Have you reported to the Hokage yet?" she tried to distract him as she examined his side.

"Yes."

"Have you been home?" Neji's gaze immediately turned to her as she looked up from her work. They both knew what she meant - he clearly had not been back to the Hyuuga compound to eat or shower before he arrived on her doorstep. She was asking if that was because he hadn't gone back at all or whether his sudden arrival and request to stay had something to do with another disagreement with the Elders upon his return. "I am home," he returned before turning away again.

Tenten finished up her examination and set the kit on the chair in the corner of the room before turning back to Neji, arms crossed over her chest.

"You know what I mean," she replied, pointedly ignoring his glare that suggested she set it aside while she still had the chance. "What happened this time?"

Neji reached for the shirt and pulled it over his head before walking over to place his hands on her shoulders.

"It doesn't matter." He saw the concern in her eyes and suddenly realised why she was so worried about it. "They don't know. No one does. It was about me wasting my potential having taken so long to become an ANBU captain, nothing to do with you. You're safe, Ten."

He leaned in to kiss her forehead affectionately before leading her to the bed by the hand and pulling her in next to him.

"It's not me I'm worried about, Neji." Tenten pressed her face against his collarbone, soaking in his presence after being separated for so long. She was tired, and now that Neji was home and relatively unscathed it was getting harder and harder not to simply drift off to sleep. Neji noticed this and slipped an arm around her waist,

"Sleep Ten, we can talk about it tomorrow."

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep but as exhausted as he was, Neji's white eyes remained wide awake. He hadn't lied when he said no one knew about them but it didn't stop him wondering once again, as he watched her sleeping form, how they had managed to end up this way.

They had been team mates for a long time, but stopped training together so frequently once Neji was promoted to jounin a few years ago. After a while they stopped getting as many missions together and even though Tenten eventually became a jounin, they never went back to training together everyday. After Neji joined ANBU they saw even less of each other and while he had never spoken to her about it, he had sorely missed training with her. She had always been the only person who really understood him and they pushed each other well when they trained together.

Almost two years ago, after spending so much time apart, they finally got put on a mission together. It had been an undercover assignment and with Shikamaru as team captain, they and three other ninja had spent six weeks on a mission that changed everything. Tenten had been posing as a barmaid at a village tavern and, basically, her and Neji had drawn out their target by pretending to be involved.

While Neji didn't realise it until the mission was over, he had not really needed to pretend. Obviously Tenten hadn't been pretending either, because no sooner had they reported to the Hokage than he had walked her home only to find himself backing her up against her front door as soon as she closed it. Tenten had made no attempt to stop him and responded to every touch of his lips and hands with just as much enthusiasm as Neji offered. Afterwards he had collected his clothes and left, and they didn't speak about it for two months. They continued to be sent on missions together and fell back into the familiar teamwork that had made them such a formidable duo to begin with. But after each mission, after he walked her home and as soon as they were alone, it would all happen again. Neither of them fully understood it, and they hardly spoke about it but whenever Neji wanted, he knew that if he went to her apartment she would not turn him away. She had been with other men before, both as part of kunoichi missions as well as having dated two men from Konoha in the few years before. Neither of her relationships had been particularly serious and although Neji was aware that she had been intimately involved with her most recent partner, he didn't ask her for details and she never offered them.

As time had progressed their spontaneous post-mission encounters had developed into something more. Rather than frantic moments of desperate need where Neji left almost as soon as she fell asleep, she woke up one morning to find the bed still warm, the sheets wrapped gently around her naked body and Neji staring down at her as he traced soft patterns on her exposed back. He remembered how surprised she had been to realise he was still there, almost as surprised as he himself was. It was then that he had decided he was in love with her. He never said it, and although sometimes felt he should just in case she didn't know, deep down he knew she was aware that he did not _have_ to come to her every time the Elders were difficult, or after every mission just to tell her he was back. She knew that he chose to come to her because it was then that he needed to be at home, and the only person he had ever felt at home with was Tenten.

This made little difference to the clan Elders though, since Tenten was an orphan from an unknown family with no bloodline limit and nothing to offer the clan. They would never accept her as a possible match for their prodigy and so they had kept their affair a secret from everyone. Neji had yet to tell Tenten, but he suspected that Hinata was aware of their relationship, though he doubted she would tell anyone or be anything but happy for them as her and Neji had become quite close over the last few years and Tenten was also very good friends with his cousin.

Neji looked down at Tenten again, her loose hair spilling over her shoulders as she slept soundly. It would all have to come out one day, and there was no telling what the Elders might do once they found out. For now, Neji would do everything he could to protect her from the tangled politics and intrigue of his family. With this thought, he finally closed his eyes and fell into a deep and much needed sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Tenten woke to soft sunlight filtering through the thin curtains of her bedroom window, warm and golden everywhere it touched. As she stirred, hopelessly attempting to ignore the glow and go back to sleep, she registered that when she had fallen asleep late last night there had been a warm, toned body pressed securely against her back that was currently absent. Stretching slightly beneath the sheets she pulled herself into a sitting position and ran a hand through her long, unbound hair as she listened for any sign of movement within her apartment. Maybe she had pushed Neji too much last night by asking about his troubles with the clan. He was normally very open with her when they were alone. Most people found him polite but cold and difficult to talk to but Tenten had always found that Neji listened well and spoke more with his eyes and his actions than with actual words.

Still, she mused, he might have taken exception to her comments and left without saying goodbye. He was comfortable with her and could be surprising temperamental and moody when he felt comfortable. Her worries were for nothing though, for no sooner had the idea crossed her mind, than Neji appeared in the doorway, shirtless and dressed only in those old pants he always kept in one of her dresser draws. He stopped short a few steps inside the door when he realised she was awake, then smiled at her in that way that he only used on her, stoking the internal fire that she always felt when Neji was around.

"You thought I left," he stated after noting the surprise that registered on her face. Tenten smiled shyly back and shrugged slightly.

"I wasn't sure when you would be expected back at the compound."

Neji simply looked at her from the doorway, all aglow from the dawn light filtering through the room that made her wavy dark hair shimmer. If he didn't know better he would almost have believed she was some kind of heavenly mirage, but she was real enough, which he proved to himself as he climbed back into the bed and pulled her to him,

"Not for a while. I have nowhere to be this morning," he pulled the sheet over their heads as he rolled on top of her and began reacquainting his lips with her collarbone. The soft groan that escaped Tenten's lips elicited a smirk from Neji as his hands joined in the exploration down at her waist, lifting the hem of her black singlet just high enough for his left palm to sit flat and warm against her stomach. He was using his right hand to prop himself up and hold the sheet down, meaning there was space for Tenten to slide her left arm under his body to run slowly up and down his back. The warm hand on her stomach began working its way higher, lifting her top as it went until she had to sit up so that Neji could pull it over her head.

"Are you sure you want to start this right now?" she asked as he threw the singlet off the edge of the bed.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" his eyes smoldered in a way the Tenten would not have believed possible for their light colouring as he looked at her. She smiled just a little as she slid both arms around his neck and lay down again, pulling him with her.

"Actually I do. I'm having tea with the girls later but I meant did you want to start this now, before you are fully recovered?" she inclined her head towards his bruised side as she spoke.

Neji did a quick twist of his torso to demonstrate full movement before pressing back down on top of her with a smirk.

"You are nothing I cannot handle," he replied before kissing her in that way he had that forced any possible response out of her mind as she surrendered and began kissing him back. As the room rapidly began to heat up and remaining clothes were shed to the floor, Neji couldn't help but savour the opportunity to finally try and make up for all the time he had been away.

When his heaving body eventually collapsed beside Tenten, he was glad of the fact that she was not vocal in the bedroom. Ironically, while Tenten was usually talkative and animated in public she was the complete opposite when it came to sex. At her loudest, Neji was able to elicit the occasional moan, sometimes his whimpered name, but generally the only indication she enjoyed anything he did was the flush of her cheeks and neck, and the change in her breathing. It made her difficult to read sometimes, but on the positive side, it made keeping their relationship a secret much easier. Besides, there was nothing he enjoyed more than a challenge. Right now, he could feel her chest heaving beside him, indicating she had thoroughly appreciated his free time this morning. He turned to his side and reached down to push her sweaty bangs back off her face prompting her to look up at him through her eyelashes, "I guess you really missed me, huh?"

Catching his own breath, Neji rolled onto his back and sighed, "Hn."

Tenten's light little laugh made him smile inwardly as she pushed the sheet back and pulled her robe on. Climbing back onto the bed she leaned over to kiss him gently, sweeping her hair to one side to keep it from falling over his face and said, "I have to get ready. Don't forget, you promised to train with Lee when you got back."

She disappeared into the bathroom and Neji groaned at the idea of training with Lee. It wasn't that he had forgotten, he just had hoped that it was a bad dream and he really had not agreed to spend his first day back after a three month mission training with the green beast. Rolling out of bed for the second time that morning he pulled on some clothes that Tenten had washed for him since the last time he stayed before collecting his other belongings and heading towards the door. He had considered leaving through her bedroom window, and in fact earlier in their relationship had done just that, but her neighbours all appeared to have jobs that meant they were either asleep or already at work at the times when Neji came and went. On the odd occasion he did cross paths with someone, nobody seemed concerned since everyone was aware of the pair's close friendship and knew that Neji had always checked up on Tenten because she lived alone. He had no such encounter this morning but smirked as he considered that the sound of Tenten singing loudly in the shower might be of more concern to anyone than his quiet exit.

"Hinata, over here!" called Tenten as she waved her friend over to the corner table of the little tea house.

Her green tea steamed warmly in front of her as Ino and Sakura argued about something inane that Tenten had not really been listening to. Hinata slipped of her jacket and smiled at the two as she took a seat at the small table. The weather was just beginning to get cooler but was still warm enough to allow for light jackets rather than coats.

"Hello Tenten, how are you?" Hinata asked as she smiled shyly at her friend. Though no one really noticed it much anymore, Hinata had gradually grown out of her stutter in the past few years. Through a combination of determined practice and what Tenten suspected was a development in confidence instigated by the young woman's growing relationship with Naruto, the only time Hinata stuttered these days was when she was stressed.

"Pretty good, Hinata. And you? How's Naruto?" she grinned wickedly as Hinata blushed, pleased that while she grew out of her stutter, she never grew out of being shy and easily embarrassed.

"Oh, Naruto is fine, though he has been acting rather strangely these past few weeks. Something to do with Shino and Kiba I suppose, since he has been spending so much time with them." She shrugged a little as she said it before pouring herself a cup of tea and watching in rapt attention as Ino and Sakura continued to argue in rapid sentences.

"Anyway…." drawled Sakura, clearly trying to move the conversation forward, "I heard Neji returned safely from his mission, Hinata?"

For just a split second, Tenten thought she saw Hinata's lavender eyes dart towards her before nodding and answering, "He arrived home last night, although I have not seen him this morning. Apparently it was a very successful mission and he might have some time off for the next few weeks as there are few assignments at the moment. Did he come to see you, Tenten?"

Tenten looked up from her tea at the sudden mention of her name and answered in a practiced, casual way, "Yeah, he came by early this morning to let me know he was back. On his way to train with Lee for the day, I think."

The three women all knew that Tenten got very anxious when either Neji or Lee went away on long missions without her and that they normally dropped by her apartment to let her know they were back, first thing after they came home. It was actually a good cover for Neji's presence at her apartment early in the morning if she ever needed to explain, though it had never really been necessary so far.

Sakura was smiling warmly, her green eyes sparkling as she cooed about how considerate it was that Neji and Lee checked up on her, "it's just so nice that you are all so close after all this time. Naruto and Sasuke never bothered to check up on me for anything - I just found out when they end up in the hospital."

"At least you don't have to try and draw a response out of Shikamaru. He is completely unreliable when it comes to keeping in touch. If I didn't know his mother I would have no idea whether he was alive!" Ino countered, waving her hands dramatically in front of her.

Tenten and Hinata both giggled in response. It was well known that despite his laziness, Shikamaru was not all that disorganised or unreliable and that it was more his inability to get a word in edge-wise with Ino that was the problem. Tenten was fond of them both but Ino could sometimes be a bit too full-on and she tended to understand Shikamaru's assumed disinterest better than her blonde friend. She supposed it probably had something to do with being used to Neji and his similar idiosyncrasies.

The rest of the next few hours continued in the same way, Hinata and Tenten listening quietly in the background while Ino and Sakura caught them up on all the latest gossip since their last monthly 'tea date'. Unless one of them was on a mission, the four women met once a month for tea at the same place, sitting at the same table. This had become a bit of a tradition over the past few years and was a source of reassurance and support to Tenten. Though she was not generally considered to be a particularly feminine woman, she did have the same concerns and problems as any other young woman her age. Having female friends who not only understood and shared her problems, but were also kunoichi, was a particular blessing as they understood better the pressures of the job on her personal life. Their different personalities and interests set them apart, but their common experiences and sense of trust brought them together. Everyone needs support, and these three women were hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Wrapped in her sweater against the cool evening breeze, Tenten walked home from the market with an armful of groceries she had picked up after leaving the tea house. The breeze was just strong enough to shake the blossoms from the cherry trees on the way to her apartment, and she thought maybe there was a slight smell of rain on the air. Turning the corner, Tenten shuffled the bags to reach into her pocket for her house key, then fumbled with it in the door before realising that it was already unlocked. Cautiously, she pushed the door open, then noticed the kitchen light on and the smells and sounds of someone preparing dinner. Shutting the door behind her, Tenten headed into the kitchen to find Neji once again wearing only his meditating pants and standing focussed in front of the stove as he stirred a pot full of something delicious smelling. He turned as she entered and set the spoon down on the kitchen counter to help her with the bags.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" she questioned while rearranging items in her kitchen cupboard.

Neji used his significant height advantage to reach above her and put things away as he spoke, "You don't have half naked men meditate in your lounge room and cook you dinner normally?"

Rolling her eyes at his pointing out that he was bare chested, Tenten wandered over to the steaming pot to taste test the meal.

"Well, there was that guy while you were away…." she grinned when he frowned and plucked the spoon from her hand, "but generally they don't cook. What are you making?"

Neji turned his back on her to continue stirring as she began to set the table, "Dinner. You remember what that is, don't you? Although, given your cooking ability I would not be surprised if you didn't."

"Haha. Very funny. We all know I can't cook _that_ well but it's not like I've ever set anything on fire!" she retorted as she poured herself a glass of water and settled at the table.

"Hn" was his only response. Tenten was, in fact, a pretty good cook and had cooked for Neji on many an occasion. She did not enjoy it, however, whereas Neji found it to be an extremely rewarding and relaxing activity which he was generally unable to do at the Hyuuga compound and so frequently took the liberty of doing in her kitchen.

Whatever the situation, Tenten was not displeased with her lover's culinary hobby and was laying stretched out on her couch, quite happily fed about an hour later while Neji sat on the floor in front of the couch, focused intently on the mission scroll he was reviewing. Her interest peaked and she leaned over his shoulder to ask,

"So what is it you are doing again?"

Neji instantly rolled up the scroll and dropped it onto the coffee table in front of him, preventing her from catching sight of the text.

"Wow, sorry. I wasn't aware it was supposed to be a giant secret," she humpfed in response as he gathered the handful of scrolls together and turned his head side-on to gauge her expression.

"Calm down Ten, you know I am not permitted to talk about any of this. I'm not even supposed to have these here."

His face showed he really was apologetic that he couldn't share his work with her, especially since he was using her lounge room as his own personal study. There were scrolls scattered in tidy little piles around the room, some of which Tenten recognised as being mission report scrolls, as well as others she couldn't identify. Before leaving on his latest mission, Neji and Shikamaru had been tasked with some kind of special ANBU enquiry into misconduct or misinformation or something of the sort. Tenten had not really gotten much more out of him, all she knew was that only Neji, Shikamaru and the Hokage knew what they were looking for and who they were investigating. She felt his eyes on her and looked over to see his head turned toward her as he regarded her seriously,

"I would tell you if I could." He practically whispered it, then added "besides, the less you know, the safer you will be."

"How do you figure that?" she didn't like it when her family kept secrets from her, and regardless of their relationship status that was what they were - family. Neji, Lee and Gai were the most important people in her life and their team had been her only equivalent of a family for a very long time.

"This enquiry is confidential, Tenten. Shikamaru and I have been assigned to determine whether there is something untoward going on and if it turns out to be a false alarm then it is better if no one knows." He held her gaze in an attempt to communicate the importance of this statement but knew from tilt of her heard that she was disregarding this as an excuse to keep her in the dark. He was also acutely aware of how much he hoped it _did_ turn out to be just a false alarm, and how much more unlikely that seemed with every scroll he reviewed.

"Fine, fine. Do what you want," she rose from the couch and turned toward the bedroom, almost stomping her way down the hall. Neji sighed, quickly collecting all the scrolls into his bag before following her, stopping just inside the doorway to lean against the wall.

"Don't be like that, Tenten. I know you hate secrets, but this is not me trying to keep something from you. It is an official assignment that I just _can__'__t_ tell you about." This was not his fault, and he could not understand why she was being so completely irrational about his part in it and required silence. He had already told her too much by explaining what he was working on in the first place, but her overactive sense of curiosity had a tendency to get the better of her. It was this curiosity that Neji was concerned might put her in danger if there turned out to be some kind of traitor as they suspected.

Tenten turned from the closet where she had been rummaging through her clothes and passed him as she entered the bathroom. Neji remained in the doorway, knowing that moving around gave her time to consider what he was saying, and to decide whether she wanted to be angry with him. Angry Tenten was not a possibility he wanted to contemplate right now, he had too much work to do. Her voice drifted back from the bathroom, snapping Neji to attention.

"Ignorance is not going to protect me from anything, Neji."

She stepped back into the room having changed into a pair of black leggings and what looked suspiciously like one of his old shirts with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair had been released from its buns and she was currently pulling it into a single loose ponytail high on her head. He watched her tie it up before striding across the room to place both hands on her hips,

"I will tell you when I can. I promise."

Tenten sighed and nodded gently, "okay," then leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Okay."

He was about to lean in again when a sudden knock at the front door made them both jump instantly apart.

"Who could that be?" Tenten mumbled and started towards the door. After one quick look back towards Neji to make sure he had retreated to somewhere inconspicuous, she opened the door and was shocked to find a beaming Hinata standing before her.

"H-Hinata, what are you doing here? I mean - I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Is everything ok?" she stumbled over her words, feeling flustered as possible reasons to explain Neji's cousin appearing at her door late at night ran at high speed through her brain. Nothing comforting came to mind.

"Yes, everything is fine. More than fine. I know it's late and I am sorry to have disturbed you but I have something I need to tell you, and Neji." Hinata's smile did not disappear but she registered Tenten's shock at the mention of Neji's name. Tenten stood in mute shock in the middle of the doorway, she had no idea what to do. Should she play innocent and pretend she had no idea what Hinata was talking about? Or should she confess and call Neji in from the other room? Luckily, Neji saved her the trouble and appeared in the hallway behind her, shirt on, she noted thankfully.

"What is it, Hinata?" he asked as Tenten came back to herself and stepped aside to allow Hinata to enter her apartment.

She directed them to the couch and set about making tea as Neji and Hinata talked.

"Well," Hinata had finally suppressed her smile and managed to raise her meek voice loud enough for Tenten to hear in the kitchen.

"I was telling Tenten today about how Naruto had been behaving strangely for the last few weeks. He has been acting so secretively and spending a lot of time with my old teammates. I thought maybe something was going on and so I asked him about it when he took me out tonight," she paused in her explanation as if unsure how she should proceed, completely missing the twitch that ran through Neji's body at the mention of Naruto taking her anywhere. While he respected Naruto, the relationship between his cousin and Uzumaki was somewhat uncomfortable for Neji, something Tenten enjoyed taking advantage of by frequently elucidating all the things they likely got up to when out on dates, and away from Neji's overprotective streak.

Unsure how to finish, Hinata simply held out her left hand to her cousin and said "Well, this is why!"

Her excitement, and Neji's lack of response drew Tenten from the kitchen and she nearly dropped the tray and mugs of tea at the sight of the engagement ring on Hinata's finger. It took a few moments before her mind registered that a response was required and then she threw herself at the quiet girl in an enthusiastic hug.

"Oh my goodness, Hinata! It's beautiful! Congratulations! Oh, you must be so happy," she stepped back to take Hinata's hand in both of hers as she scrutinised the ring intensely, beaming from ear to ear.

"I did not expect it at all!" Hinata gushed in return, blushing profusely as she recalled the moment, "But we were having dinner and then all of a sudden….and in front of everyone! I nearly fainted, Tenten. Oh but I'm so excited!"

Tenten was still admiring the ring and smiled as Hinata explained the evening in more detail. Neji simply sat in silence at the opposite end of the couch during the exchange, only to interject at the next break in conversation.

"What did Lord Hiashi say?"

Both women looked over to him simultaneously, then Hinata straightened up a little and composed her excitement again.

"Actually Neji, he was not altogether surprised. Naruto had spoken to him about it and Father was apparently not entirely pleased at first but eventually decided that worse things might happen, and the possibility of my marrying a man who has succeeded in overcoming the doubts of so many in the village to become as successful and renowned as Naruto has, was not necessarily a bad thing."

Hiashi wasn't wrong, Tenten reasoned. Naruto had been quite inspirational to a lot of people in the village, not the least of whom were the two Hyuuga sitting in her apartment at that very moment. He and Hinata were so clearly a positive influence on each other, and the Hyuuga clan leader no doubt saw the potential for a very successful union between the two. Neji simply nodded, apparently accepting his uncle's judgement and allowing Hinata to explain her exact reason for visiting.

"Anyway, since we are now officially engaged, Naruto and I have decided we want to throw an engagement party next week to celebrate with all our friends. We would love for both of you to be there," she finished looking between them as she spoke.

"That sounds lovely Hinata, I can't wait," Tenten answered before Neji could interject anything negative. He was looking clearly disturbed that his cousin had known to find them both at Tenten's apartment and had invited them to a party as though they were a couple.

Hinata seemed to read his mind, "I know you can't officially come together," she gestured between them, "but you are so important to me and I wanted to at least be able to invite you both and share the news with you first."

"You mean you haven't told Ino or Sakura yet?" exclaimed Tenten as she got up from her place kneeling beside Hinata and sat down on the couch between the cousins, picking up her tea as she did so.

"No, not yet."

"I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out I knew before them. They will absolutely die!" she grinned wickedly and took a sip from her mug. Hinata picked up her own mug and attempted to suppress her slight smile at the thought of her two most social girlfriends not being the first people in the village to know such a huge piece of news.

"How did you know I would be here?" came Neji's deep voice from over Tenten's shoulder. They had almost forgotten he was sitting there and it took Hinata a moment to understand his sudden realisation.

"Aren't you always here when you are not at the compound?" she questioned quietly.

"Yes, but how would _you_ know that?" Neji was clearly suspicious, and concerned that their secret was blown and the Elders would come beating on the door any minute now to punish him for his shameful indiscretion.

"Do not worry, Neji. I have known for some time that there was something going on between the two of you. Although, I wasn't entirely sure until you were hospitalised after that A rank mission went so horribly wrong."

Hinata glanced at Tenten, then with a sympathetic expression explained, "She was very worried about you. More so than I had ever seen before, and when I came to visit and saw her sitting next to your bed holding your hand, I realised what was going on."

Tenten was shocked but noticed no such response from Neji, who had clearly suspected his cousin's knowledge but trusted her loyalty in keeping their secret. Hinata knew better than most what would happen to them if the clan Elders ever discovered their lie of omission.

"Aside from you, who else knows?" Neji remained stock still but Tenten could almost hear his brain rapidly analysing possible scenarios and assessing solutions.

"No one, that I know of. Despite the fact that you spend so much time here, you have done rather an impressive job of keeping it quiet. If I didn't know you both as well as I do, I probably would never have picked it up either," Hinata shook her head as she confirmed that both the Elders and her father remained blissfully ignorant on that account.

Tenten and Hinata continued to talk quietly for a few minutes, and when the tea was finished Neji stood and walked with Hinata to the front door.

"I will return tomorrow morning for our training session, Hinata." He looked pointedly at Tenten before continuing, "Following that, I will spend the remainder of the week at the compound, just in case anyone has been overly observant of my absences."

In an uncharacteristic demonstration of great affection for Hinata, Neji then proceeded to press his hands gently to her shoulders and drop a quick kiss on her forehead, "Congratulations on your engagement. I am very happy for you both."

He stepped quickly back as Hinata blushed and mumbled thanks, then embraced Tenten and opened the door, moving quickly out into the approaching storm. The rumble of thunder punctuated the silence as Tenten closed the door and locked up, moving to tidy the apartment as she prepared to turn in for the night.

"Well I'm glad Hinata is happy," she commented on her way into the kitchen, "her and Naruto both deserve it."

Neji nodded in mute agreement but Tenten could see his mind was elsewhere. Stifling a yawn, she crossed the room to check the window was closed and then turned back to him.

"Well I think I might go to bed, are you coming?" she questioned, knowing full-well that the answer would likely be no, since his mind was now turning and he tended to work best late at night.

"No. I think I will stay out here and work for a while, I won't be long." He brushed her bangs back from her face and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before moving back to his bag full of scrolls and settling down to work again.

Tenten sighed and retreated to her bedroom alone, shivering at the rapid drop in temperature and wishing she could afford effective heating as she climbed into bed and watched the lightning flash, rain beginning to beat gently against the window.

Despite being tired sleep was not forthcoming, and Tenten watched for a long time as the storm grew stronger and the rain more insistent, before feeling the shift of her mattress as Neji's weight finally lowered beside her. She was still shivering slightly with the cold, and after a few minutes Neji's hand slipped up beneath her shirt to move slowly over her cold skin. Magic hands, she called them. She smiled sleepily as she felt his chakra infused palm warming everywhere it touched, and snuggled closer to his body as he pressed his lips firmly against the back of her covered shoulder and whispered a goodnight.


	4. Chapter 4

"Focus, Hinata!" growled Neji as his cousin tried once again to block his advances. They had been training for the last two hours solid and keeping up with him was starting to wear her down. She kicked out at him once more, attempting to distract him while simultaneously blocking his chakra enhanced blows with her own.

Neji could feel Hinata beginning to tire, and after the next set of movements held up a hand to halt her.

"Break," he commanded gently before moving away to sip from his water. She had improved considerably since they first began this weekly sparring session, though Neji had not lost to her yet. Hinata sat down a few feet away with her own water and looked furtively at him before turning back to sit against the wall of the dojo.

"Perhaps we could talk to Father," she ventured quietly, refusing to make contact with his eyes.

"About what?" Neji answered. He had no idea what Hinata was talking about. Generally he tried not to talk much to his uncle, not necessarily because he didn't trust him - their relationship had become closer than when he was genin and Neji considered Hiashi almost a true father figure these days. That being said, he still preferred to keep his business to himself rather than divulge it to his uncle and he had the feeling Hinata was talking about something personal. She turned to look at him then, determination shining in her lavender eyes.

"Tenten. You know this cannot keep forever, Neji. Maybe if we spoke to father he would be able to sort something out, speak to the Elders…" she was interrupted as Neji sprang to his feet and fixed her with a withering glare.

"No," he growled in quiet fury. How could she even consider discussing such a topic within the walls of the compound? You could never be sure who was listening and it was so incredibly dangerous for him if someone should happen to overhear them,

"You will say nothing to anyone about her," he continued in a whisper, starting toward her as she stood.

"But…"

"But nothing. The Elders will never approve, regardless of what Lord Hiashi does." He looked almost pleadingly at her and the pain in his voice forced a twinge of guilt in Hinata for even mentioning it,

"If they find out, we know what they will do to me, but there is no telling what they might do to Tenten. Please," he finished quietly.

Hinata nodded slowly and reached out a hand to rest on his forearm, "I am sorry, I didn't mean to upset you and I promise not to tell anyone."

Neji felt his anger wane somewhat at her apology, he knew that she meant well even though it sparked an intense fear and anger inside him. He stepped back and turned to get his training bag,

"We are finished for today."

Hinata watched as he stalked silently back towards his quarters, carefully noting to avoid the subject in future.

Neji slammed his bag down on his bed before heading for the shower. He was angry with Hinata for bringing up the mere idea of confessing his relationship to his uncle, but even more so, he was angry with himself for not having ever discussed with Tenten where they were going with this dangerous affair. He flipped the shower on and stripped off his training clothes while considering the situation. This had never been something he had intended to happen - Neji had never really considered his romantic future much, especially after he became a jounin.

He stepped into the shower and let the hot water burn away his anger, leaving only concern and frustration. Tenten had been his best friend for nearly as long as the two had known each other. There was no one he trusted more, both personally and professionally, but he had never been more than curiously attracted to her before that undercover mission. She was beautiful, intelligent, warm and an extremely talented kunoichi, despite the fact that she generally underestimated her own skills. Sometimes Neji wondered whether they would have developed a romantic interest in each other, if they hadn't been partnered together on that mission. Tenten had clearly not been concerned about becoming involved with Neji when she dated civilians from the village. Nor had she said she wanted a relationship when they began sleeping together. In fact, if he was honest with himself, Tenten had never actually said that she wanted any kind of official relationship with him at all.

Neji sighed as he dropped his head under the spray of water - they had just fallen into a routine in the same way they did for training. As a jounin, Neji had spent more time on missions than at home, and even less with his old teammates. Lee had once mentioned Tenten's previous partner while Neji was sparring with him in her absence. He realised now that what he thought at the time was a sense of protectiveness, had been more along the lines of jealousy, but it also seemed clear that he was in love with her even then, though had been unable to either accept or understand it. He had thought that with his promotion to ANBU, which had pleased the Elders immensely, he would simply continue on as he had - married to his work and completely disinterested in a romantic entanglement. The Elders had made it especially clear for many years, that while there was an expectation that he one day marry and produce children to carry on his prodigious talent, there was to be no distraction from his career as a result of pointless romantic interest in any woman who was not approved by the Council and Lord Hiashi.

Neji had not really considered it again until the morning he woke up in Tenten's apartment, just before dawn, to find her splayed out beside him on her stomach, hair splashed across the pillow and the sheets pulled down to her hips and up to her knees. Ordinarily, that was his cue to leave, to gather his discarded clothes and sneak out the window before she woke up and considered trying to change his mind. Not that she had ever tried. That morning had been different though, and instead of sliding out of the bed, he slid a leg over hers, using his foot to catch the sheet and tug it down over her exposed legs. When Tenten didn't wake, he reached over to pull the top of the sheet up her right side to cover her partially exposed breast, tucking it under her but allowing it to remain low across her back, where his hand settled automatically. That was when it had truly begun. Maybe he should have left, but he didn't, and he wasn't interested in leaving now unless she asked him to.

Turning off the shower and reaching for a towel, Neji considered the option that they just continue on as they were. Clearly it could be done, and neither of them were upset with the arrangement. At the same time, it could not go unnoticed if Neji failed to live up to the Clan's expectations and marry a woman from a good family, nor would Ino and Sakura fail for much longer to notice Tenten's long stint of singledom since the eviction of the last man to share her bed. Neji cringed at that thought, he did not like the idea that anyone had even stepped foot in that bedroom before him, much less the bed. Regardless, he was getting the distinct feeling that secrecy would not be achievable for much longer, and he had better have a plan ready by the time that day came.

"I can't believe you found out first!" Ino screeched loud enough for everyone in the noodle bar to hear. After finishing her training with Neji, Hinata had gone in search of Sakura, thinking to tell her about her teammate's engagement as she left the hospital after her shift finished. As it turned out, Ino had been at the hospital delivering some flowers and the three women had decided to stop at a nearby noodle bar for lunch. On the way, Sakura had bumped into Tenten exiting the local blacksmith's workshop and thus the four women were now sitting down to lunch while Ino bemoaned her late notification.

"She was on her way home from dinner and my apartment is nearby," Tenten explained reasonably, then added teasingly, "plus I'm more special than you."

Hinata hid a grin at Tenten's childish display of one-upmanship and turned to placate Ino, "That is not true, Ino. I promise it was just that I saw Tenten first."

"That doesn't matter now," interrupted Sakura while waving her ands dismissively, "we have so much to discuss. Have you set a date yet?"

The four women began discussing all the details that would have to be ironed out for the wedding as well as a few ideas, mostly from Ino, on possible pre-wedding girls nights. Hinata was fairly keen for a low-key event, especially given that the Elders would have to be consulted on many aspects of the actual wedding. Tenten listened attentively to the dress, hair and makeup ideas Sakura and Ino were debating while wondering if it was the wedding talk or the noodles that were making her feel sick in the stomach. The feeling got even worse when Ino suddenly asked, "So Hinata is bringing Naruto, _obviously_, but what about the three of us?"

"You mean _dates_?" Tenten clarified carefully. Hinata glanced over at her but remained silent. They both knew that Sakura and Ino could wrangle a date with almost anyone they wanted in the village, but Tenten's situation was a bit more complicated.

"Yeah, I mean how is all that going to work?" Ino looked over to Hinata, who took a moment to consider the question before smiling.

"Actually," she responded excitedly, "you might not need to consider the date issue. You are my three closest girlfriends and I would really love it if you could be involved in the ceremony. I was thinking something a little traditional to please the Elders, but also a bit more contemporary."

"Naruto will like contemporary," Sakura agreed thoughtfully, "he has never been a big fan of rules or tradition."

Ino and Tenten nodded, and Hinata continued with a smile, "I was thinking the same thing. I was also thinking then, that the three of you could be my bridesmaids." She looked from face to face and grinned when she got excited responses from all three.

"Definitely," answered Sakura.

"Oh, how exciting!" squealed Ino, clapping her hands, "Tenten isn't it exciting?"

Tenten smiled warmly at them all, trust Hinata to find a way to make everyone happy. The sick feeling in her stomach was suddenly gone at the thought of not having to worry about bringing a date.

"It's a great idea, Hinata. I would be honoured."

After finishing their noodles, the four women stood to leave, but Tenten caught Hinata's arm on the way out the door.

"Thank you, Hinata. I hope you didn't do that just for me." She knew that being bridesmaids would result in the three of them being partnered with groomsmen selected by Naruto, rather than choose between attending alone or with a date.

"Not at all," she smiled in a mischievous manner something akin to Ino's favourite expression, "I meant every word I said - it would mean a lot to me for you all to be involved."

With that she left Tenten standing mute in the doorway with a sudden appreciation of the innate Hyuuga ability to problem-solve.


	5. Chapter 5

The rain had returned with a vengeance, and for nearly three days after his return to the compound Neji remained inside, either training in the dojo or locked away in his quarters studying scrolls. He had combed through more than half the selection of reports and documents in his bag, which he was due to exchange with Shikamaru so that they could share their findings by the end of the week. After Hinata's engagement party Shikamaru would be going on another mission with his ANBU team, effectively halting their investigation until his return.

Sighing, Neji leaned back in his chair and stared out the window at the water rushing in rivulets down the glass. Once it stopped raining he would find Tenten - he had not trained with her in weeks and thought a light training session might do him good after his prematurely shortened session with Hinata two days earlier. He valiantly tried to ignore the slow burn in his chest that meant he missed her. There was no shame in the feeling, but unlike missions - where the separation was simply a temporary fact of the lifestyle they each chose when they became ninja - spending his time at the compound was at best an attempt to deceive the Elders about their relationship, and at worst a pointless exercise in isolation. Having been reunited with her after three months away, only to spend so little time with her seemed such a waste considering either of them might go on their next mission and never return.

_Morbid, Neji. _He admonished himself. _Very morbid._

He was interrupted from these thoughts by a servant who announced quietly that there was an ANBU captain at the compound gates asking to see him. Neji nodded once before asking her to send him through. He was just walking into his lounge room when Shikamaru appeared in the doorway looking half drowned, dressed in full ANBU kit and carrying a bag similar to Neji's that was packed full of scrolls. He was recognizable to Neji even with his mask on but removed it as he entered the room, nodding to him in greeting as the servant slid the door shut behind them.

"I have been asked to take the monthly report to Suna before the engagement party. I thought I would drop off the scrolls I have for you to read while I'm gone."

Shikamaru handed Neji the bag, then added quietly,

"I have some suspicions based on my readings, but if they are right, you are not going to like the implications."

"We will discuss them when you return. What is this?" Neji replied, pulling out a bundle of half a dozen scrolls tied together.

Shikamaru shifted uneasily from foot to foot before he answered,

"Those were a little harder to read, I recommend leaving them until last."

Neji raised an eyebrow at him in question. What could be so difficult to read that an ANBU captain was made uncomfortable by it?

"What do you mean?"

"They...troublesome," he sighed slightly before explaining "…they are Tenten's mission reports," he finished with shrug.

Neji stared at him in mute shock, wondering how he could possibly have found out about their clandestine relationship, and why he would not want Neji to read her mission reports. When he did not respond, Shikamaru continued,

"Look Neji, she is your best friend, you were teammates for a long time, you respect each other. I know what that is like and I can't say that reading Ino's reports was a pleasant experience - you and Tenten are much closer than Ino and I ever have been so, as a friend, I am suggesting you put them aside until you _have_ to read them."

Realisation dawned on Neji as Shikamaru spoke.

"They are kunoichi mission reports," he stated more than asked.

Shikamaru nodded, "in vivid detail. More than I ever wanted to know - she is my friend too."

"I appreciate the warning. Have a safe trip to Suna, and give my regards to Temari," Neji finished as he grasped his friend's hand. His observant Hyuuga eyes noted the slightest colouring of Shikamaru's face at the mention of Temari's name but it passed quickly and the ANBU captain simply nodded, making a silent exit as Neji set the scrolls aside.

He would have to read all of the reports at some point, but for now he was done with reading - he needed to get outside and do something physical, regardless of the rain. Hoisting his training bag over one shoulder, he dropped the tied bundle of scrolls onto his desk and made for the door. The strange curiosity he felt about reading Tenten's mission reports was somewhat disturbing to him, though he concluded it was not so much out of voyeuristic interest in her activities as it was the opportunity to learn about aspects of her professional life to which he was not privy. He had a general understanding of what kunoichi missions entailed. He knew that they varied in length but ultimately ended with the seduction and assassination of a target of particular interest to the safety of the village. Neji had, on a number of occasions, been deployed on assignments to confirm the kills of kunoichi on such missions, or to extract a kunoichi whose cover had been compromised.

But Tenten, in all the time he had known her, had refused to discuss hers in any detail. While Neji had never tried particularly hard to push her for information, any mention of kunoichi assignments was met with a shrug of the shoulders and a decidedly evasive lack of eye contact as she carefully changed the subject. It was not particularly difficult to identify when she had been on one of those missions, as she rarely came near him for the first day or two after returning. A couple of times, Neji had even climbed into bed at her apartment, only to have her roll to the furthest side of the mattress, or woken up in the middle of the night to find her sleeping on her own couch. She always made up an excuse and refused to elaborate, but maybe now he would be able to fill the gaps.

Without really thinking about where he was headed, Neji had walked to his old team training ground. Looking around, he set down his bag and began stretching. The rain had eased off but the sky was still dark and brooding, with another storm threatening in the distance. Neji settled into his characteristic fighting stance and began working through the individual poses, one by one, before suddenly registering that someone was approaching.

"Need a training partner?"

He smiled slightly, then turned to see Tenten on the other side of the field, clad in her training gear with her hair in those familiar twin buns and a broad grin on her face as she leaned casually against a tree, twirling a kunai.

"I suppose," he responded in mock disinterest before turning to resume his signature fighting stance.

Tenten responded in kind and followed quickly with kunai flying in all directions. The wet weather hindered her visibility a little, but it also made it more difficult for Neji to get a solid footing on the muddied ground. Her close quarters combat was much improved from her chunin days, and if it weren't for Neji's superior strength and height, Tenten would argue that they were pretty evenly matched. That strength and height was now suddenly bearing down on her as she refocussed on the spar, narrowly missing the chakra infused palm aimed at her wrist and the follow-on kick to her steadying leg. The palm she dodged, but the kick she missed and it took all her agility and speed to get up again before the next set of moves had him almost on top of her.

The pattern continued for another fifteen minutes, Neji drawing her into close combat and Tenten barely scraping out of his dangerous reach before he was on her again. It was his lack of distance and subsequent choice not to use his bloodline trait or allow her enough space to call upon her weapons arsenal that finally clicked. He was playing with her. She brought it up at the next pause in his movements, deliberately putting distance between them.

"What has you so frustrated?" she huffed out as she dodged another high kick.

Neji grinned at her familiarity with his behaviour patterns. He was frustrated both with the miserable weather and being confined to the compound to avoid the suspicion of the Elders. Despite being a voluntary confinement, the scroll reviews were the only work Neji had, and without Tenten there to disrupt him with her chatter, he found it overly quiet and boring. That boredom led to physically frustration and restlessness which was, admittedly, manifesting in a close combat sparring session that would be much more physically draining than their normal routine.

"Who says I'm frustrated?" he swiped out at her again with his left hand, his footwork sliding slightly in the mud. The rain had started to fall lightly again and the sky had darkened even further, promising a heavy downpour.

"You are too predictable, Neji. The more bored or frustrated you get, the more you lash out," Tenten laughed as she slashed at his shoulder with a kunai. Neji turned it deftly to the side with his hand against her forearm just as the sky opened up in a sudden downpour of thunderous rain. Tenten let her concentration lapse for a split second as the water pounded down, only to provide Neji with the opportunity he needed to pin her and win the spar. Before she could react, he had backed her into a tree which formed part of the outer line of their training ground, knocked the kunai from her hand and twisted both her arms behind her back, between her body and the tree trunk.

Tenten could have kicked herself for letting outside distractions affect her concentration like that. She winced slightly as Neji pinned her arms behind her back, which he promptly noticed and dropped the angle so as to avoid injuring her.

"I may be predictable but you lack focus," he gave her a self-satisfied smirk and added, "You should mediate more."

Tenten gave him a sidelong glare through the water filtering down from the canopy overhead, irritated that the session was over so quickly and that he had managed to beat her. The feeling subsided somewhat when she felt Neji's hands loosen a little more around her wrists, his palms flattening against hers as his body pressed closer to her.

"The weather is becoming worse," he mumbled. His hands dropped from Tenten's and moved to settle on her hips, something he only did when they were alone,

"You're shivering."

Tenten had not realised she was cold, especially after such an intense training session, but the rain was freezing and as soon as he mentioned it she could not suppress the shaking that wracked her body. Neji pressed a little closer to her, shielding her from the rain with his height and allowing the heat of his own body to warm her as much as possible.

Neji, for his part, was very aware that his behaviour was unprofessional. Should anyone come looking for them on the off chance they were training in this weather, they would find this interaction between teammates very suspicious. He was also acutely aware for the umpteenth time that all the sneaking and separation and lies would be completely unnecessary but for the brand on his forehead. A sharp pang of bitterness shot through him at that thought. They could have a real relationship, a normal relationship, if he was not a Hyuuga. Even if he were a Main Branch family member, he would have at least a chance to convince the Elders that their romance had potential and that he should be free to choose his own path. While the Council had not announced any plans to arrange a marriage to any of the prominent families wishing for a marital alliance with the Hyuuga clan, he was reminded once again of just how furious they would be if they found out he was sleeping with the nameless kunoichi from his genin squad. Suddenly it was all he could think about, a nagging feeling of time catching up to him returned with the force of a tidal wave.

"Neji," Tenten whispered, wishing she did not have to break the spell he seemed under, but he was suddenly far away and unaware of the situation he had put them in,

"….Neji."

He started when he registered his name being spoken and looked down to find Tenten looking decidedly concerned.

"Right," he stepped back and dropped his hands to his side, inwardly reprimanding his own lack of focus. Moving away, he collected his sodden training bag before turning again to face Tenten. She was looking at him with a confused frown, but said nothing.

"I will see you for lunch with Lee tomorrow then," he could barely be heard over the pounding rain, but she picked up on the words and nodded in return.

"Don't let the compound drive you crazy, Neji."

He felt his lips twitch into a smirk when he caught her grin and wink, before heading back the way she had first come. Whether it was being stuck in the compound or spending more time with Lee, he figured it was only a matter of time.


	6. Chapter 6

Stretching his tense shoulders after spending hours hunched over his desk, Neji leaned back and ran a hand over his face in exasperation. There were at least thirteen different scrolls on the table, all of which he had read and re-read over the last few hours, and still he was missing something. He had taken Shikamaru's advice and left Tenten's half dozen reports until last, having just finished reading the last one for a second time. If he were in the mood to be honest with himself, he might have admitted that the foul, restless mood he was currently in was partially due to the thorough details of Tenten's reports.

As he reached over to take a sip of his now cold tea, he conceded that he had thought finding out the missing details of Tenten's work would help him understand why she was so determined not to discuss those missions with him. Now he knew, he almost wished he had left it alone because he realised just how much of an ass he had been in the way he had pursued their relationship. Her psychological evaluations indicated that she was surprisingly capable in dealing with the unusual stress and pressures of that type of mission. This emotional robustness, alongside her very particular weapons skills and natural good looks, was no doubt the reason she was chosen for many of these missions. Tenten was, in many ways, the perfect assassin. She was disarmingly innocent in her looks and manner, extremely capable and unattached, unlike so many of the other kunoichi who might have been available.

That last point had hit a very sensitive nerve somewhere inside Neji. Frowning into his empty cup he considered the thought rolling around in the back of his mind, that he was responsible. By initiating a relationship with Tenten that couldn't be made public, he had essentially locked them into a situation where by she was the perfect candidate for jobs that he didn't want her to have to take. She had no legitimate reason to say no to the missions, as he knew she was first and foremost a professional and would do what was required of her as a Konoha kunoichi. And she had no reason to change her mind so long as they had to keep their relationship a secret from the Elders. He could fix all of this if he just told the truth and suffered the consequences. The only problem was that the Clan might do something unforgivable to protect their bloodline and he couldn't guarantee Tenten her safety if they did.

He halted abruptly in the middle of the room and suddenly realised that at some point in his very circular and repetitive self-argument he had started pacing. The need to protect Tenten was an often subconscious and always overpowering one. Neji was well aware that she could take care of herself but in a selfish kind of a way he couldn't help but do it anyway. Why, he couldn't say, but the thought immediately struck him then that maybe this was what he had been missing all along. His glaringly bright relationship issues had allowed him to overlook the finer detail; her reports were not an unnecessary distraction from the focus of his investigation, they were central to it.

It took two long strides for him to reach the desk again, and a few seconds to sort through the scrolls until he located the one he wanted. Tearing off the tie around it, Neji flattened it out on the desk top and scanned quickly down to the section describing a kunoichi mission Tenten had undertaken about twelve months ago, ending in the assassination of a black market arms dealer who had recently developed a dangerous taste for abduction and trafficking of ninja, among other things. Scanning the section twice, Neji paused to soak in the information before deciding that he needed to find Shikamaru immediately. The Nara strategist would be leaving after Hinata and Naruto's engagement party tonight, but it was imperative that Neji find him before he left.

Neji gathered all the reports together and headed to the Academy's archival repository, knowing that Shikamaru liked to have all the information at his fingertips and would be down there going through the archives until he left for the party. He did hate unnecessary effort, after all. The area tended to be deserted for the most part so he met no one else in the halls, moving quietly and quickly until he got to the very back of the repository, where Shikamaru was leaning back on a chair, scroll in hand and feet propped up on a desk opposite him. Having arrived back from Suna early that morning, he hadn't expected to see Neji again until the engagement party tonight. He glanced up, his expression darkening slightly at the look on Neji's face and his rushed entrance.

"Wasn't expecting to see you here today," he started before noticing the scrolls in the bag Neji carried, "ah right, finished your research then?"

Neji didn't answer, he simply rummaged through the bag to pull out one scroll, then set it on the desk in front of his friend.

"I missed it the first time, but I think your suspicions were right and I may have found the perpetrator," he stated while watching Shikamaru peruse the text quickly. Shikamaru's expression morphed from his usual, mild disinterest to something between confusion and agreement. He glanced at Neji, then back at the scroll, then back to Neji before responding,

"He does fit the profile, but how about I play devil's advocate for a moment? How can this be our guy, when it says here that he is dead?"

Neji crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the shelving behind him while considering his reply.

"It wouldn't be the first time someone we thought had been killed turned out to be alive."

Shikamaru scoffed and raised an eyebrow at him,

"Neji, be serious. It was Tenten who killed him! Do you really believe she would make that kind of mistake? She's no rookie anymore."

"Of course not, and I am not suggesting that he _is_ still alive but the profile fits. It is the closest we have come to a lead so far and I think it warrants some investigation – someone must have taken over the business. The whole thing went underground after that mission and has been difficult to track, but there have been rumours that the operation continued through a brother who assumed control…"

Shikamaru tilted his head in a conciliatory fashion, "True, but I leave in the morning and am demonstrating to an Academy class this afternoon. Are you going to be able to chase this down without back up?"

Neji knew his friend was only saying this to be supportive and because as unlikely as it appeared, there really was something about the profile of this particular target that felt like a fit for their investigation. Shikamaru knew that if Neji looked into this lead and found it to be solid he may have to act quickly, and without the Nara for back up he was entirely on his own.

"There isn't really an option, so I will do what I have to while you are gone. If I find anything, we can address the situation when you return."

"Okay."

Shikamaru nodded his agreement and the two men grasped hands before parting, Shikamaru to his home and then the Academy, and Neji to the compound. Once safely inside his quarters, Neji slipped out of his regular clothes and into his ANBU uniform minus his mask, before a knocked sounded at the door.

Hinata took all of three seconds to appraise his appearance before sighing loudly and fixing him with an exasperated stare,

"Oh Neji, please not today…can't you possibly take a day off to relax, and socialise, and just maybe be on time for one party?"

Few people ever heard Hinata speak to Neji in such a manner but as a result of their ever-closer relationship, and for a reason completely unfathomable to Neji, a closer connection to Hinata seemed to bring out her mothering instincts. He supposed that Tenten or Sakura would tell him it should not be such a surprise, as Hinata had a very nuturing, gentle nature to begin with. It would make sense that she wanted to look after those she loved most. But Neji was still Neji, and being mothered by anyone was a mostly foreign concept that left him feeling frustrated and claustrophobic. Only Hinata seemed to get away with it because somehow, his response to her had slowly turned from frustration to a non-committal grunt and a general acceptance of whatever it was she wanted to badger him about. Today however, was very important to Hinata and so he could understand why she might be a little more stressed than usual. The Elders, Lord Hiashi, as well as a dozen other family members would all be attending Hinata and Naruto's engagement party later today, and Hinata wanted absolutely nothing to go wrong or threaten her Father's tentative agreement to allow them to marry.

"Relax Hinata. I will be at the party tonight, I just…have some work I need to do before then."

"That's fine. I love that you love your job so much you can't bear the mere thought of a day off. But everything needs to run smoothly tonight so can you please, please just make sure you don't get yourself injured, maimed or abducted between now and seven o'clock?" she gave him a pleading look, "I don't think I could handle you bleeding all over the floor at my engagement party."

Neji rolled his eyes slightly at his cousin's dramatic scenario, a response he was sure he had somehow picked up from her fiancé.

"For the record, I am never late and I only showed up bleeding once. Which was Sasuke's birthday, where even he did not show up on time, so it hardly counts."

"Really? Well in case you haven't noticed, your record is a little out of date. Since you and Shikamaru started working together in ANBU you have both shown up to a total of eleven birthdays or team get-togethers either covered in blood from some kind of injury, or in a foul mood because of work. And while you are always on time for official events, you are notoriously late to social ones."

Hinata tried one last time to communicate how important her cousin's visible support to their clan was without being overly fluffy, something Neji never understood or responded to well.

"Please Neji…I know it probably seems silly to you but it really means a lot to me to have you showing support in front of the Elders."

Neji said nothing for a moment, knowing the truth of her statement but not convinced he could endure socialising with the Elders for that long. He sighed quietly,

"Alright, I give you my word – I will be both punctual and charming."

"And not bleeding…"

"And not bleeding."

"And you will relax and try to enjoy yourself just a tiny, tiny bit?"

"That might be pushing your luck."

"Okay….deal."


	7. Chapter 7

As it turned out, even Neji had overestimated the amount of time he would need to follow up of his lead, so an hour until the party found him dressed and quietly rummaging through the Hyuuga compound library. While he wasn't exactly banned from being in there, he was not allowed to be there unaccompanied either, and anyone who found him would want an explanation. They weren't going to get one. Sitting in the darkened room, four different books and three scrolls open on the desk and a single candle burning to avoid drawing attention, Neji frowned at the paper in front of him as he jotted down notes. He didn't think he would have a chance to snoop around the clan histories again undetected so he wanted to write down anything he may need to refer to again later. His lead had ultimately panned out so far, but not in the way he thought it would.

In his ANBU uniform he had been able to leave through the Konoha gates without raising suspicion or question and do some reconnaissance in a small nearby village. Once out of view of the gates, he had removed his mask and disguised himself using a transformation jutsu, heading to the local tavern and situating himself at the bar, where he would be able to simply wait and wouldn't risk straining his chakra and releasing the jutsu. There he had waited patiently for his suspect to arrive. Less than half an hour had passed when two men had entered and seated themselves conveniently within earshot, unable to recognize Neji in his disguise. The man facing towards Neji was the one he had come looking for - the brother of the dead arms dealer Neji and Shikamaru had suspected of being connected to their investigation.

With a long scar running diagonally up his left hand from the top of his pinky finger and disappearing into his partially rolled-up sleeve, he was easily identifiable. The conversation had made it clear that this man was now running his brother's illegal operations and the malicious gleam in his eyes as they discussed their business arrangement was strong enough to make even Neji nervous. But it had been the content of the conservation and the identity of the man seated across from him that had shocked Neji so much that he almost dropped the jutsu. When he listened to the rest of their conversation and discovered what was really going on he was more than a little surprised, and while it drew the investigation closer to conclusion he was beginning to get a sinking feeling about the final outcome.

Flipping the book on his left back a few pages, Neji stopped abruptly on a page illustrating the more obscure uses of his bloodline trait. It caught his eye out of curiosity but as he read on he realised that while he was already aware of some of these applications, others he was not, and given the sudden turn in the investigation they might become relevant, so he copied the page into his own notes before putting all the books and scrolls away and snuffing the candle. He then slipped out of the library and down the hall as silently as a ghost. If Neji had thought he should keep Tenten at arms length before, he was certain of it now. The situation was much worse than he had expected and there was an increasingly real danger that Tenten and anyone else close to them might become collateral damage once it was revealed that he and Shikamaru were behind the investigation.

The local tavern turned out the be a nice venue for Hinata and Naruto's engagement party, Tenten decided as she moved from the entryway into the building proper, making a beeline for the bar. She wasn't sure how Hinata had managed to convince Hiashi to hold it there but the building was surprising clean and decorative for a tavern and the size of it allowed room for guests to sit, mingle at the bar and dance without being too crowded. Having made the customary effort at small talk with the various Hyuuga family members she was pretty sure she had met before but could not quite remember the names of, Tenten made her way across the room to give Hinata a warm hug before indicating she would be at the bar if anyone asked.

She had been leaning against the nearest barstool with a glass of local ale in her left hand as she observed the steadily growing party when she felt a familiar presence at her right elbow.

"Hey Shikamaru, how are you?" she smiled brightly as she turned to him, shooting him a dazzling smile as she sipped from her glass.

Shikamaru returned a gentle smile and raised a hand to the bartender, signaling he wanted one of whatever Tenten was drinking before turning back to her.

"Troublesome, to be honest. Ino has been raving on and on about something…I was not really listening…since I arrived but got suddenly quiet when she said something about Suna and I mentioned seeing Temari," he paused thoughtfully for a moment before adding, "I am beginning to think they do not get along particularly well."

Tenten couldn't help but smile. Whilst Shikamaru was considered by most of Konoha as one of, if the not the most prodigious strategist in the history of the Hidden Leaf, he was also the most ignorant when it came to the women in his life. He could pick up subtle hints about the personal lives of his friends that most would miss but when it came to Ino and Temari he was completely clueless.

"You know Shika," she replied with a grin, "I think you might be onto something there. When did Temari get here?"

She was surprised that Temari would be in town and not have gotten in touch with her. Temari and Tenten had clashed in their exams as young teenagers but had become quite close over the years. Shikamaru shook his head slightly as his eyes strayed to the dancers in front of them,

"No, she hasn't visited Konoha…I saw her when I delivered the monthly report to Suna, but with the tension between her and Ino you would think that they hated each other and that I forced them to spend time together against their wills."

Shrugging off the troublesome conflict between both women, he sipped at his drink while he appraised Tenten's outfit. Ino and Sakura had clearly had something to do with it, as Tenten tended to stray away from making a statement with her clothes, but seemed to have had some assistance from her girlfriends, since her outfit was the perfect combination of her relaxed attitude whilst also managing to show off her more feminine side.

"You look lovely tonight, Tenten" he murmured conspiratorially while leaning close to her ear. He felt her laugh quietly as she turned to him, hair hanging long and straight over her shoulders.

"Thank you, but you know the credit really goes to Ino for the hair. It feels amazing but if she hadn't looked so dangerous with that straightener I probably would not have bothered." She laughed again and took another sip of her drink. Shikamaru nodded in agreement and leaned back,

"She does have quite the skills when it comes to that sort of thing," he admitted, "but speaking of former teammates, I don't think I saw you with either of yours tonight…"

He left the comment hanging in the air between them as Tenten ducked her head a little. It was true she had not gone over to talk to either Neji or Lee as soon as she arrived, something she would generally do, but had instead gone straight for the bar. Shikamaru's raised eyebrows indicated that he thought there was a definite underlying meaning to this and Tenten could never seem to lie to the ANBU captain so she quietly told him.

"Yeah, well I am my own person without having to run to Neji and Lee for support but, to be honest," she teased and looked around carefully, spotting both men a safe distance away before continuing, "lately they have both been so busy with other things, and I haven't really had a lot of missions on my schedule so I have not really spent a lot of time with them. We had lunch the other day and it was nice but It's not quite the same as it was when we were younger…almost tense really," she looked at Shikamaru with a sad smile on her face and added, "I guess things are more complicated than they were then but maybe we have grown apart more than I realised…"

Shikamaru could understand where she was coming from, he was definitely not as close with his former team members since the splitting of the team and being in ANBU made it even more difficult, but he had a sense that maybe there was more to it than Tenten was readily admitting.

"So should I take the fact that you have been subtly eyeing Neji over in the corner since you walked in as indicating maybe this has more to do with him than it does Lee?"

He couldn't help but bite back a self-satisfied smirk when she turned a little pale and bit her lower lip. Shikamaru was close to both the former teammates and had noticed a recent slow change in Neji's behaviour in regards to Tenten, but she was by far the easier to read and her response confirmed that there was definitely some kind of reciprocated tension between the two. Tenten took another sip of her drink in an attempt to buy herself some time to formulate a believable and appropriate answer. Thankfully, Shikamaru continued talking,

"I know it isn't any of my business, but you guys have always seemed to share your work with each other so I am guessing it has something to do with the investigation he and I have been conducting," she turned to him with a facial expression of mixed guilt and shock.

"I…"

"It's ok. I know he won't give you details but I figured you would find out something eventually," he cut in, waving it off as though Neji had permission to tell her anything he wanted, "but you need to understand that despite it being a professional assignment, there is a personal element to the investigation for Neji. He has had to look into things he was probably not expecting to deal with and I imagine that could cause some tension between even the best of friends before we are through with it."

Shikamaru reached over to squeeze Tenten's hand gently, making her smile at how sweet he could be to his friends when he was concerned. She squeezed back and risked a quick glance over at Neji, who was facing away from her. If not for the almost invisible tension in his shoulders and the set of his jaw, Tenten would not have thought he had seen her, but she knew better than to think his eyes would miss anything.

"Just give it some time, Tennie." Shikamaru used his favoured shortening of her name, "he is still sorting it out."

She couldn't help but be confused and comforted by his words all at the same time, thinking for a brief moment that maybe he knew or understood more than he let on about their relationship. Tenten had no time to dwell on this as Shikamaru grinned at her before whisking her onto the dance floor to join the party.

"Come on, you are dressed for a party and I know how much you love to dance…."

Tenten grinned in response and spent the next two hours happily moving between drinks at the bar, chatting to Lee and dancing with Shikamaru and Kiba.


	8. Chapter 8

Her back rammed into the wall of the tavern hallway as Neji's body slammed her against it, hands lost somewhere in her silky straight hair. Despite the roughness of his body movements, she noticed how his hands moved slowly and gently through her hair, savouring the smoothness that was normally caught up in buns or waves. She silently praised Ino for being the one to straighten it for her, after insisting that the four women spend the afternoon playing fashion stylist for each other in preparation for the evening's party. All things considered, Tenten was quite happy with the result. It was not very often that she wore clothes unrelated to missions or training, so to be wearing a slinky, loose top and snug denim jeans was a nice change. Judging from the hands now trying to work their way between the hem of her top and band of her pants, Neji appreciated her outfit as well, maybe a little too much.

He had pushed her back against the wall and just like he always preferred, lifted her legs to wrap around his waist as he slid her higher up the wall to even the difference in their heights. She could feel her shirt catching slightly on the panelling behind her and would have scolded him if she had any breath left, but when he pulled away she was too busy gasping for air to speak. She did manage to look up at him though, right before he leaned back in to take her lips again, and she recognised the need reflected in his eyes. Whether it had to do with her dancing with Kiba and Shikamaru all night, or for some other unknown reason she couldn't be sure. What she did know was that he was being unusually reckless and they needed to either leave or go back inside before things got out of hand.

"Neji," she whispered while trying to pry his head away from her neck unsuccessfully, "slow down."

He pulled away briefly, allowing her to put her hands on either side of his face, before changing tactics and pressing his lips hungrily against hers. Neji was pleased to note that her body was not agreeing with the commands of her voice, and Tenten responded instantly and forcefully. He felt her hands slip inside the collar of his shirt and slide as far down as his shirt would allow, warm and nimble. The front of her top had too high a neckline for him to get very far with it, and so he began working back down her neck and behind her ear, lips trailing fire as they went. He was just sliding her top up past her waist when Tenten jerked back, turning her head toward the party.

"What?" was the question Neji meant to ask but it came out as more of a low growl as he felt her whole body stiffen and her hands push against his chest.

"Did you hear that?" Tenten glanced at him, then back to the doorway at the end of the hall, "I think someone is coming."

Neji stilled her struggling with his hands and body so he could listen but was unable to distinguish any particular sound above the thumping of the music in the next room. He turned back to her and shook his head,

"I don't hear anything, Ten."

Her dark eyes were wide and pleading, eliciting a sigh from him as he grudgingly activated his Byakugan to check again. Though there was no one close enough to have noticed their presence, Neji noted that Ino was wandering in their general direction, likely heading for the restroom located at the opposite end of the hallway. Turning back to Tenten, he gave her a strange look before deactivating his bloodline trait and leaning close to her ear.

"Ino is coming," he paused and looked at her flushed face, noticing her rapid breathing, "Are you alright?"

Tenten nodded breathlessly before answering, "Fine. Do...do you want to go?"

Neji didn't even bother to respond, he simply stepped back with Tenten still wrapped around him, providing enough room for his hands to make the necessary gestures, before they found themselves suddenly back in Tenten's darkened apartment, courtesy of his ANBU training. They were just inside the doorway of her bedroom and he let her slide down to place her feet on the floor, before capturing her lips again as he backed her towards the bed. Tenten responded instantly, more relaxed now that they were not likely to be interrupted, her tongue sliding over his bottom lip as her knees buckled against the edge of the bed.

Neji felt her hand catch the front of his shirt as she dropped back and pulled them down together, maintaining the contact between their bodies. Leaning over her with his elbows on either side of Tenten's body, Neji deepened the kiss as she started undoing his shirt. He refused to make it easy for her, continuing to move his lips over her mouth, jaw and neck as she worked. Cool air soon reached his chest as warm hands slid his now open shirt off his shoulders, forcing him to sit up and allow it to pool at his waist before Tenten reached over and threw it to the floor.

"Eager," he smirked and raised an eyebrow as Tenten reached to pull him back down by the shoulders, fingers trailing over his now bare upper body.

"Impatient," she corrected with a slight grin, then kissed him again, gently nipping his bottom lip with her teeth.

A battle for dominance ensued, lips and hands moving roughly and hungrily over every inch of skin as Tenten's top slipped up her body and was pulled over her head, splaying her hair across the mattress. Neji leaned back to look at her and decided he liked Tenten in jeans, she never wore them much but the figure hugging shape and rich blue colour suited her. Bed sheets suited her better though, and he reached down to wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her with him as he rolled onto his back.

With Neji now underneath her, Tenten leaned down to work her warm lips over his chest, the soft swish of her silky hair brushing against both of them as it fell over her shoulders. Groaning, Neji dropped his head back, simultaneously fumbling with the button of her jeans, trying to peel them off as she slid further down his body, her lips following.

He reached suddenly to pull her back to him, rolling her to the side while he hastily unzipped and tugged her jeans down her legs, kicking them off the end of the bed when he was done. He watched as Tenten giggled quietly before working off his pants in a more gentle manner. When she was finished, she returned to straddle his hips, knees resting on either side of his body and forearms flat against his stomach as she bent to press her lips teasingly against his.

"Maybe I am not the impatient one…"

Twenty minutes later Neji finally pushed himself inside her, finished with messing around and guessing from Tenten's desperate attempts to pull him closer with her knees that she was too. The rhythm was familiar, the feel of her lips electric, and the fall of his hands to the back of her thigh and neck was natural. He wasn't sure why he needed it tonight, and he was definitely not an emotional kind of person, but it felt like something between them suddenly reconnected as their breathing and bodies synchronised. Maybe it was jealousy that Tenten and Shikamaru looked so comfortable together as they danced at the engagement party, or more misplaced frustration at his week in the compound. Either way, Neji realised too late that he was being rougher than usual, more selfish and domineering in his movements. A quick glance at Tenten's face and rapidly rising chest put him at ease - if anything, she looked more in need of release than he felt. She tilted her head back unconsciously, her breath starting to catch in her throat as his movements became erratic and rushed. He grinned inwardly that they might almost finish together but was shockingly interrupted by the distant sound of someone knocking on Tenten's front door.

Tenten caught his eyes as he froze, a frown rapidly forming on her flushed face while her hands clamped down on his upper arms to prevent him moving away. He continued at a slightly slower pace and dropped his head down to rest against her shoulder, attempting to block out the unwanted distraction. A few seconds later though, another knock sounded and was followed by the muffled sound of their exuberant teammate asking if Tenten was home. He almost jumped out of bed and pummeled Lee into the ground then, but Tenten had other plans. Her body was teetering on the edge and she could feel every twitch of both their muscles as he continued to absently roll his hips. Neji gave a slightly strangled groan when Tenten clamped her knees tighter and higher around his torso, effectively pulling him as deep as she could. It was enough to bring him back to the bedroom and less than a minute later the tightening of her body and the tremor that ran right through her was enough to push him over the edge as well.

Exhausted and sweaty, Neji rolled onto his back and dragged the sheets up to his waist. One hand dropped over his eyes in disbelief as the other wrapped around Tenten's shoulder when she curled into his right side.

"What could Lee have possibly wanted from you at this time of night!" he growled out, eliciting a smile and mock slap to the chest that made him raise his arm and turn to face Tenten.

"He didn't know he was interrupting. Don't be so grumpy," she laughed lightly and then stretched out against him with her head resting on his shoulder,

"I'll see what he says tomorrow."

Tenten yawned and closed her eyes, but Neji shot one last dirty glare in the direction of the front door before grunting a response and running a sleepy hand through Tenten's less straight hair.

Bloody Lee.


	9. Chapter 9

The smell of coffee greeted Neji as he stepped out of the bathroom, hair damp against his bare shoulders. He hunted around for his black ANBU uniform, sliding into the pants before sauntering into the kitchen to find Tenten seated on the kitchen countertop sipping at a mug of steaming coffee. The temperature had dropped significantly during the night and the clouds had just begun to unleash a steady stream of raindrops against the streets and roofs of the village. He threw a half smile in Tenten's direction as he dragged his shirt on and stepped past her to make himself some tea.

Neji never drank coffee, had never developed a taste for it, but his girlfriend was another story entirely. While she loved green tea and would often drink it with him, Tenten had a particular fondness for curling up with a cup of rich coffee. The room was comfortably silent as Neji sat down at the kitchen table and the two finished their respective drinks before comment was made about his choice of attire.

"Going somewhere?" Tenten queried with a slight raise of her brow intended to emphasize her comment and indicate his clothing without completely turning her attention from the cups she was now drying. Neji was unsurprised that she noticed he had chosen to wear his uniform rather than civilian clothing, but wondered momentarily whether it was worth the fight that might arise to tell her exactly why. Instead he settled for something between honest and cagey.

"I have to verify some information I came across in my investigation. Information that I cannot verify as a Hyuuga."

When Tenten did not immediately respond, he hoped that that would be the end of it and she would not question him for further information. His ANBU mask allowed him to do whatever he needed to without exposing his identity and so the choice was a sensible one. Slowly, Tenten walked to the end of the kitchen counter, leaning against it as she carefully tied her black robe closer to her body. She nodded slightly before looking him directly in the eyes,

"How long will you be gone?"

Neji was acutely aware of her tone and the care with which she spoke, indicating that the conversation could go either way depending entirely on what he chose to say in response. He selected his next words honestly and carefully.

"Less than 24 hours, should I find what I am looking for," which was clearly cryptic and not enough information for her. Her conversation with Shikamaru at the engagement party had led her to believe that this investigation was significantly more dangerous than Neji had let on, and he could tell from the expression on her face that her curiosity was beginning to get the better of her the more evasive he became. He didn't want to fight with her about it but he was still irrationally angry after his research, with her or himself he wasn't sure, and had mostly avoided her the past few days for that reason. Except for last night. And again this morning. Even he had to admit that was hypocritical. He held her gaze, arms crossed over his chest as he continued,

"I have to protect you, that is why I don't tell you more."

This was true, but obviously the not the correct choice of words because Tenten suddenly exploded in a way he had not seen since she was a teenager and had caught Lee and Neji training with, and subsequently destroying, her favourite kunai.

"Don't give me that alpha male bullshit, Neji. This has nothing to do with protecting me, nor do I require it!" she pushed away from the bench top and stepped up to him, ignoring the significant height difference that should have made him much more imposing,

"You aren't allowed to tell me what you are working on and that's fine. I get it. But that doesn't explain your behaviour. You haven't even come over here since Hinata's engagement party last week! And you spent the entire week working with Shikamaru and completely avoiding me…I was gone for a two day mission, came back with more than a few minor injuries," her hands waved angrily as she spoke, "and the only time you seem to have been able to successfully interact with me at all was last night, no talking involved!"

If Neji was thinking with full clarity, he would have called her out on the fact that her argument was not so much about his behaviour or overbearing need to protect her, as about her not being the centre of his attention – a completely uncharacteristic and irrational concern for Tenten to have, but not the first bizarre behaviour he had seen from her lately. Coupled with her sudden rage over the whole situation, the insinuation that he was taking advantage of her struck a nerve, quickly burning through his remaining emotional control and before he knew it he had walked her back towards the counter, hands roughly finding purchase on the bench top either side of her body.

"Don't dare accuse me of mistreating you, Tenten" he growled out and only barely considered backing away when he noticed the shocked expression on her face,

"I am protecting you, regardless of whether or not you understand why or how. And we are both well aware you can look after yourself. In fact, judging from your success in the past, you are extremely capable of looking after yourself."

He knew that the tone and insinuation of last comment was petty and below the belt, especially coming from him. He had not gotten into ANBU without doing things he would rather not have, and he had to admit there was more than a little feeling of irrational betrayal behind the stab. But he could not deny he was angry. Not so much angry about what she had done, but angry that she had not even thought to tell him, angry she had deliberately kept it from him.

"What is that supposed to mean, Neji?" she spat out and pushed his left arm out of her way to gain back some personal space. Tenten's body was positively radiating anger as she paced across to the other side of the room. Neji stood ominously still and rigid, having realised that somewhere in the short exchange this had escalated past a simple argument to something neither of them really understood how to express. He knew he should put a stop to it right then. Nothing in his entire life was more important to him than Tenten. They were best friends, team mates and he was completely and utterly in love with her. If he diffused the situation now, she would be angry for a few days, he would stay away for a few days, then apologise and by next week it would have blown over.

Neji paused mid-thought to notice the tiny red scratch on Tenten's left cheek that had yet to heal over, and the fresh strapping on her injured right ankle before the thought crossed his mind. He needed to talk about this with her, and he really did want to protect her. The past week had brought him ever closer to the end of his investigation and both he and Shikamaru had become convinced that no matter how it was handled, there would ultimately be blood. They could not hide their identities or intentions from these people forever, so the only way to prevent their own family and friends from becoming collateral was to make sure they were as far removed as possible. At that thought, Neji's mouth suddenly preempted his mind and the words left him before he could even register them,

"It means I've seen your mission reports, Tenten. Do you sell your body to criminals for all of your missions or just the ones where you feel like it?"

The response from both was instantaneous and instinctive. Tenten had stepped forward as Neji did the same and her first swing caught his arm as he raised it to defend himself. Her second just clipped his jaw, prompting him to immediately grab for both her forearms to prevent a third strike. With her arms restrained, Tenten twisted and struggled, yelling unintelligibly as Neji strained to halt her without causing or sustaining any injury. She fought for a few more moments before ceasing her struggle and almost collapsing against him, chest heaving from the emotional and physical exertion. Feeling she must have run herself out, Neji gently released her only to be caught off guard by a hard slap in the face.

"Get out," Tenten growled and stepped away from him knowing he would never, but still fearing that he might, hit her back.

Neji stood dead still for a moment, hand to his stinging cheek and wondered suddenly if this was a terrible idea and he might be able to talk his way out if he just explained everything.

"I said get out!" this time she yelled it, pointing one hand at the door while the other smoothed her robe back into place. This was in everyone's best interest, Neji reminded himself before collecting the rest of his gear from beside the front door and storming darkly out of the apartment and into the rain.

Tenten stayed exactly as she was for another full minute before her hand began to shake and she sunk heavily into the nearby couch, eyes glassy and mind racing. In all her life, she had never had a situation change from so right to so wrong in as short a space of time. Feeling suddenly overcome by the force of emotion and with nothing else to do, she lay down on the couch and burst into tears.


	10. Chapter 10

"Is there…something in particular…on your mind…or are you actually trying to…kill me?" panted Hinata as she stood with her hands on her hips, watching her cousin stalk around the dojo with a positively murderous expression. He had been just about beating her senseless for almost half an hour, after showing up at her door and practically demanding they spend the afternoon sparring. In the bit over a week since her engagement party, Hinata had noticed a change in Neji's demeanour, though as she huffed in foggy breaths of cold air, she admitted she couldn't quite work out what it was that he wanted to say. Hinata had hoped he would eventually work himself up to conversation but he seemed particularly determined to avoid whatever he so desperately needed to express.

If he left it much longer she might be too exhausted to communicate all together.

Neji scowled at her question and stalked back to his starting position to take up a defensive stance.

"You must be out of practice," he countered grumpily.

"Or clued in that you always do this when you want to talk and don't know what to say," Hinata responded as her labored breathing relaxed and the words began to come more effortlessly. Neji straightened but his facial expression remained hostile.

"Would it have something to do the argument you and Tenten had this morning?" Hinata smirked inwardly when Neji looked shocked. She didn't surprise him often but it never failed to provide a sense of satisfaction when she managed to know more about his life than he let on. He made a strangled sound that might have been a growl before stalking over to grab Hinata's wrist and drag her none to gently back to his quarters, where he closed the door carefully and gestured for her to take a seat.

"I have told you already, not out there." He leaned back against the wall opposite where she was sitting and sighed, "What do you know?"

Hinata's hands came together to fidget in her lap as she described her meeting with Tenten in the forest not more than a few hours ago. Hinata had been out taking a blissfully uninterrupted walk around the village with Naruto when Tenten had stormed past them looking highly-strung and on a mission. Naruto thought she might have been crying and suggested that Hinata check on her, so they had parted with a quick kiss and a promise from Hinata that she would let him know if there was anything wrong and if he could help. So Hinata told Neji everything that had subsequently transpired, including Tenten's account of their physical altercation and the selection of choice words she used to describe him while she beat the living daylights out of a nearby tree. Neji at least had the good grace to look guilty but Hinata noticed there was no remorse evident in his eyes.

"Neji, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what is wrong with you? It is clear you are in love with her, whether you admit it or not, yet you assault her in her own kitchen! I know you…this isn't the kind of person you are, so either there is something horribly wrong with you or you're deliberately trying to make her hate you…" she threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and just looked at him sadly.

"I did not assault her, Hinata. She hit me, if you want to be entirely accurate."

Hinata's eyes narrowed immediately as she raised her finger to point at him angrily, "Don't give me that excuse. Whether you hit her or not is besides the point. You spent a week avoiding her while you pretended you were working with Shikamaru, who I know is on a mission, by the way. You goaded her into an argument until she felt threatened enough to lash out at you. Then you took out your guilty frustration on me in the sparring ring, so spill…you owe me."

Neji shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot before coming to an apparent decision and walking over to retrieve a piece of paper from his desk. Holding it absently in one hand he returned to his position leaning against the wall.

"I do love her," he confirmed with a slight nod. "I haven't said it before and definitely not to her but I see no point in pretending to you that it isn't true. That said, you know better than anyone that Tenten has always had my back, whether I ask it of her or not. Now it is my turn. She doesn't know but she is caught up in something dangerous…"

"Your special assignment?"

"Yes. I was assigned with Shikamaru to investigate inconsistencies in some reports that might indicate a traitor within the Hidden Leaf, but it is worse than we thought, and now I am concerned it could get wildly out of hand. I didn't set out to start an argument with her, but I was angry, and I was sort of using work to avoid discussing why. It was an honest fight to begin with, but I realised somewhere in the middle of it that a big fight might help to keep her away and out of danger until this is finished, so…" he left the sentence unfinished and ran a hand over his face in an unusual demonstration of agitation before continuing,

"The only problem is that I also need to keep an eye on her, quietly. Once this mission is over you can both reprimand me for mistreating her until your heart's content."

Hinata soaked in his words and evaluated him briefly, "That was an extreme measure to take and I am not sure I am entirely following…"

"I think I need your advice, or maybe your help. Initially, I just wanted to get her out of the way to protect her but there is another reason to keep her out of harms way and away from me for the time being, and I can't be sure of it without consulting with a Main Branch Byakugan user," he paused for a moment to look her directly in the eye, "someone who is trained to use it for more than just combat."

Neji leaned forward and handed Hinata the paper, which she unfolded and nearly dropped once she scanned the contents. She looked up at him with wide eyes,

"How on earth did you get this, Neji? The Elders would never allow you access to these kinds of documents!"

He held up his hands in a placating manner and replied,

"It was necessary for the assignment, I promise you. What I was not expecting to discover was this," he pointed to a section at the bottom of the page beside which he had added a notation.

"I had no idea what I was seeing at the time and didn't want to say anything until I was sure but when I re-read this entry…I am almost completely certain, but I am not trained for it, so…."

He was feeling increasingly stressed by his suspicion and pointed out the notation he had made to a confused Hinata, whose change in expression all but confirmed his suspicions. Hinata turned as white as her shirt and he thought for a moment that they might both pass out from the revelation. Her mouth gaped open and closed like a fish for a long moment.

"Oh...oh no…no no no…I mean…but…it's not…you saw this?"

"Yes"

"Are you sure?"

Now it was Neji's turn to be exasperated.

"Why do you think I am asking you about it!"

Hinata put her hand to her mouth and shook her head slowly, "If…if this is what you saw, it is beyond dangerous. It is deadly. You have to fix what happened today! Wh-what are you going to do?"

Neji came then to sit beside her on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees and dropping his head into his hands for a moment before he looked up at her again,

"I need to ask you for a favour…"


	11. Chapter 11

Staring unseeingly into her glass, Tenten only registered the sudden appearance of someone to her right when a familiar, newly bejewelled hand placed itself gently on her forearm. Sighing softly, Tenten turned to see Hinata's sympathetic and slightly fearful facial expression, eyes glancing from the glass of alcohol to its bearer and back.

"Please tell me you haven't been sitting here drinking for the last three days," she pleaded gently.

Tenten gave a small laugh and pushed the glass away from her slightly, "No, Hinata. I promise you I have not been sitting here drinking for three days."

She shook her head at the relieved expression on her friend's face and pointed towards the drink before adding,

"To be honest, I haven't really even drunk much of this glass. I was on my way back from training and just…just…I don't know," she sighed, trying to find the words to explain why she couldn't bring herself to go back to her apartment but at the same time didn't really want to do anything else.

Hinata had an amazing ability to draw people into a conversation about whatever was bothering them without saying much herself and she sat patiently beside Tenten, allowing her time to rephrase her explanation. A moment later Tenten settled on, "I'm just frustrated, I suppose."

"Don't get me wrong, Neji and Lee have repeatedly made it clear that I have a _bit_ of a temper," she said holding up her right hand in a placating manner.

"But this was so different, Hinata. Never in my life have I snapped so fast from happy to completely enraged. It was like I had no control at all. And…and Neji…" she looked sidelong at Hinata and the two women locked eyes as she whispered, "I really thought for a second that he might hit me back. He was so angry, and I have no idea why."

Tenten had told Hinata about her sudden and bizarre fight with the Hyuuga prodigy the day it had happened. Somehow, Tenten had assumed from Neji himself, Hinata had caught wind of the altercation and had tracked down the weapons mistress who was beating the living daylights out of a poor tree in her old training area on the opposite side of the village. Tenten had paused in her assault long enough to explain to Hinata that her arrogant, judgemental excuse for a cousin couldn't keep his self-important opinions to himself and had accused Tenten of exploiting her sexuality for money. Hinata had looked shocked for a moment before quietly asking if Tenten wanted to talk about it. Her reply had been a surly and resounding no, and for whatever reason Hinata had not pushed to discuss the matter further. Though in the following two days she had heard from Lee that Hinata had been looking for her.

Hinata felt she now knew exactly what was going on but realised she needed to be careful of her words if she didn't want to cause Neji any further difficulty in his relationship with his…well…girlfriend, she supposed was the word. She turned to her left slightly so that she could face Tenten properly and gave it her best shot.

"Tenten, you need to hear me when I say this," she looked her friend in the eye and willed her to understand, "Neji would never ever hit you outside of a sparring session, and never in anger. You have to know that,"

Tenten gave a slight nod as her eyes dropped to her lap indicating she knew deep down that this was true.

Hinata smiled at that and continued carefully, "But he is angry. He has been prowling around for the last three days doing I don't know what for this assignment he is working on but I don't think his anger is directed entirely towards you. Something has him on edge and I am convinced by his reaction to your mission reports that it has something to do with this investigation."

As she spoke these words, it was as though a light suddenly turned on inside Tenten, and her eyes widened as she realised how badly she had overlooked the meaning of his words in her anger. She dropped her head into her hands before looking back up to Hinata.

"My mission reports," she started, "when he made that comment he said it was because he had read my mission reports. I thought at the time he was angry at me because he knew what I did on those missions and didn't approve but what if it wasn't that at all?"

Hinata nodded slightly as she answered, "You think he was jealous?"

"Jealous maybe, but how about guilty? There are psych evaluations and minute detail in those reports, and I imagine some of them aren't the most pleasant to read. I have always told Neji that its part of my job and its my decision, which is true, but when you have a partner you pretty much automatically stop being assigned those types of missions. What if he thinks that keeping our…_thing_…quiet to protect him forces me into taking these jobs?"

She groaned and dropped her head into her hands, then explained, "There has always been some tension between us about those missions and things between us are always different for a while after I come back from one, but he never mentioned he was angry about it or felt guilty. I can't tell him he isn't responsible for all of that if he won't bring it up and talk to me…"

Tenten looked to Hinata for a response only to see the other woman's face striken with guilt.

"…What?"

"I…I…um…"

"Hinata, what?!"

"W…well if he does feel responsible for putting you in that position…it…it's possible I may have had something to do with your argument being as explosive as it was…"

Hinata looked deeply apologetic as Tenten's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What do you mean, exactly?"

Hinata's hands wrung together nervously in her lap as she thought back to the conversation with her cousin while they were training weeks ago.

"_You know this cannot keep forever, Neji. Maybe if we spoke to father he would be able to sort something out, speak to the Elders__…"_

"_No, you will say nothing to anyone about her.__"_

"_But__…"_

"_But nothing. The Elders will never approve, regardless of what Lord Hiashi does. If they find out, we know what they will do to me, but there is no telling what they might do to Tenten. Please,__"_

She looked up at Tenten and shook her head slightly, "I didn't realise he knew about your kunoichi missions and felt responsible, I swear. But I mentioned to him that I thought Father would be more supportive than he expected if Neji were to tell him that he was in a relationship with you. With how he handled my engagement to Naruto, I don't think he would disapprove. You have always been such a strong kunoichi, Tenten. I think he quite admires you for your good influence on Neji….I'm sorry."

Tenten shook her head and reached over to pat Hinata on the hand, "Don't be sorry, Hinata. You may have brought it up this time but it's not the first time he has had an issue with the whole 'relationship' idea. I have tried to bring it up once or twice but he just gets all cold and suddenly either has somewhere to be or changes the subject."

With a sad half smile she reaches over and takes a sip of her now warm glass of ale before continuing,

"It's not that I mind…I don't. I am happy just as we are and nothing needs to change unless he wants it to but he has no right to treat me like some kind of criminal just because he doesn't like an aspect of my job. Whether he feels guilty or not is irrelevant…I make my own decisions and I don't need him to be my protector. I haven't done anything wrong, certainly nothing he wouldn't have done."

"Maybe he just needs some time to himself to work it out. You know Neji, he will meditate on it, dive into his work for a while and then come round in his own time," she felt more than saw Tenten nod in agreement then added, "It is probably a good decision just to let him be until he finishes with this assignment and can really assess his decision making process. Then you can beat the crap out of him in the sparring ring for being an ass."

Both women laughed slightly at this, before Hinata said,

"I had planned to do some shopping for the wedding this afternoon, would you like to be my second opinion?"

Tenten smiled and huffed out a breath, blowing her bangs back where they had fallen into her eyes as she pushed her chair back to stand. Hinata stood with her.

"I can't think of a better way to spend my afternoon. I just need to go to the bathroom first. I'll be back in a sec."

As Tenten disappeared up the hallway towards the restrooms, Hinata rounded the corner of the bar to the booth table that was out of view but just within earshot and sat down beside its single occupant. She felt guilty for not being entirely truthful with Tenten but supposed she wouldn't have done it if she didn't agree with the purpose.

"I hope you are happy now," she injected as much venom into her sweet voice as she was able, "I had no idea you had issues with her missions. You should have talked to her about _that_ yourself…"

"Yes" came the soft reply from her cousin.

"Neji, surely there is a better way to do this…" he cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"No, Hinata. There isn't. I need to do this my way."

Hinata sighed and stood slowly. Before she could walk away, Neji's hand shot out to catch her wrist. She looked back to him questioningly.

"Thank you" was all he said, then he released her as he heard the sound of the restroom door closing down the hall.

"I didn't just do it for you," and with that Hinata stepped back around to the bar where Tenten met her a moment later before they headed out to the street and the myriad of shops.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN. I normally don't like to write author's notes or comments but thank you to those who have commented and continued to follow and comment despite the very long hiatus. I don't reply, but I do read them and the feedback is very much appreciated. xo**

After leaving the bar with Hinata and spending the afternoon wedding shopping, Tenten was in a much better mood, despite the miserable weather. Winter was definitely on its way. As she wandered aimlessly through the village towards her apartment, she noticed that while the threatening storm hadn't yet eventuated, the clouds still hung dark and grey in the sky, forcing an early dusk. She had nowhere to be and was pleased for it as a cold wind whipped up past her and straight through her very inadequate training gear. It had been significantly warmer when she left home that morning and she hadn't expected to be outside as evening fell so had not brought a proper jacket. Sliding her free hand deeper into her pocket, Tenten set herself to getting home, climbing into some warm clothes and curling up with a cup of coffee to polish some of her weapons.

She had been a little negligent with her normal maintenance routine over the past couple of days but thought that it might help to relax her and boost her mood, though she hadn't entirely put that horrible fight behind her. Talking with Hinata had helped ease her hurt feelings a little, as she now understood that maybe there was more to Neji's comments than just disapproval. It was clear that he had been genuinely angry, but now Tenten realised that he also must feel partially responsible for her assignments. Sighing as she turned towards her apartment complex, she decided to set the whole thing aside.

Excuses and explanations aside, Neji had no right to speak to her the way he did and she refused to dignify his misbehavior by overanalysing it. All these swirling emotions must have been having a physiological impact because Tenten suddenly felt light headed as she ascended the steps to her front door. Pausing to lean against the door frame while rummaging for her keys, she took a deep, calming breath to regain her equilibrium and then nearly had a heart attack when she turned to find Lee standing at the top of the stairs.

"Oh Kami, Lee! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Her friend's wide eyes became apologetic and concerned as he noticed her sway slightly and stepped forward to offer her his arm. Tenten accepted briefly as she regained her balance.

"Sorry I scared you, Tenten" he replied with a gentle smile, "but I was on my way past and saw you looking a bit distressed. I wanted to say hello and see if you were okay."

Tenten's face brightened and she unlocked her door, swinging it open and beckoning Lee to come inside.

"That's sweet of you. Why don't you come inside out of the weather? I was just planning to have some coffee."

Sliding his shoes off as he entered, Lee nodded and closed the door behind him. Gesturing to the many bags Tenten had dropped next to the couch he commented,

"It looks like you had quite the shopping spree today…"

Blushing slightly, as she didn't normally shop so much, Tenten set about making tea for him and coffee for herself as they talked.

"Yeah I know it's a bit ridiculous but I had no idea how much stuff there is to buy when you are a bridesmaid! I went shopping with Hinata. It was like every store we went to had something 'essential' for the wedding. And this isn't even counting all the wedding dresses we looked at for her…"

She brought the drinks over to the couch and they sat together with their cups warming their cold hands. Lee grinned at her as he sipped.

"Oh weddings, how youthful! Hinata will look radiant I am sure. Though I can't imagine Naruto in any kind of formal attire. It seems unnatural."

Tenten laughed at the thought, "I am almost expecting he will show up in an orange suit or something crazy."

"So, I don't mean to pry but you looked distressed on the way here and at the door you seemed dizzy. Is everything alright? Are you sick?"

She shook her head and gave him a lopsided smile before elaborating.

"I'm okay, not sick…I don't think. I'm not really sure what happened with the dizzy spell but I feel fine now. Guess I have been a bit stressed lately and maybe need to rest a little. I don't have any missions assigned for the next week or so, so plenty of time to relax and do some training...or shopping…"

That jogged Lee's memory and he glanced over at her as though to ensure himself of her physical state before asking, "If you are feeling better tomorrow, do you want to have a sparring session?"

Tenten gave him a dazzling smile and answered, "That sounds great, Lee. I would love that."

Lee's enthusiasm for _everything_ in life was actually quite relaxing for Tenten, and so as the storm outside finally hit, she drank coffee and modeled all her exciting purchases for Lee while he caught her up on the latest wedding gossip sourced form Sakura and Ino.

Soaked and shivering on the ledge of Tenten's tiny balcony, Neji looked through the partially obscured glass to watch her turn in a circle for Lee wearing her bridesmaids dress. It was a dark blue colour and modest but she looked amazing and Neji smiled to himself as he watched her laugh with Lee and gesture animatedly as she talked. He wanted to go in and explain everything to her but he couldn't find the right words. Apologies had never been and skill for him and, on the occasions he issued them, often sounded more insincere than genuine. He wasn't even sure he deserved the opportunity to apologise anymore but was determined to fix his mess once this damn investigation was over. Then she could inflict any punishment she wanted on him as long as she took him back. With his mind settled, he turned away from the yellow glow of the window and disappeared into the darkness of the storm.


	13. Chapter 13

The increased rain and generally unpleasant weather over the next four days was enough to drive most people inside, but tonight two ANBU shinobi reveled in the camouflage it provided them as they leaped from roof to roof towards the Hyuuga compound. Neji took the lead in their surveillance because of his familiarity with the place and its many inhabitants and Shikamaru concentrated on connecting their target with a possible motive for his activities. He leaned towards Neji to murmur quietly,

"Are you sure that is the guy? He couldn't be more than about twenty years old."

"Twenty-one actually. And I think I can recognize my own clan members don't you?" he shot his companion a pointed look and continued, "He is definitely the one, but I still don't understand why he would turn traitor on his clan and his village, especially given his status in the clan – he is main branch. Or why they wouldn't just take him if they wanted the Byakugan, he has no cursed seal to prevent it."

The smirk on Shikamaru's face indicated he had already considered this possibility, "I am pleased to know something you don't that is pivotal to this investigation. Kind of impressive since I've been away and you have had all this extra time to mull over his motivations…"

"Whatever it is, I'd be very pleased to hear it, strategist," Neji growled in response. The expression on his face was just shy of murderous but the Nara knew he wasn't in any danger.

Shikamaru smirked again then grew serious, "You said you originally heard him discussing a deal to get them the Byakugan of a powerful main branch Hyuuga, and the only proviso is that these criminals help him get revenge on another member of the clan just as powerful but of no value to them."

He received a nod in agreement.

"Right, which presumably means he plans to abduct Lord Hiashi to hand him over to the traffickers…and I suspect that he means to have them kill _you_ in revenge."

Neji looked at Shikamaru as though he had lost his mind.

"Why would he want to kill me? I have nothing to do with him outside of being a Hyuuga."

"Name one other branch member as good as Hiashi? You're the prodigy. Think about it…" he returned to watching the young Hyuuga sneak his way back into the compound and his personal quarters. Shikamaru had located Neji after he returned to join his surveillance and to decide on a plan of action for apprehending the clan traitor before his plan could be carried out. Though, Neji had to concede defeat with Shikamaru's reasoning so far.

"Even if you are right that doesn't explain any of this. He has betrayed his clan and his village so that he can trade my uncle for my murder, what does that achieve?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Maybe he wants to try and take power for himself…"

Neji shook his head, "Impossible. The clan Elders would never allow it. Hinata would step into the position in the event of her father's death and I have no power within the clan for him to take. If anything the Elders would probably be thrilled to have me gone. Besides, he can't possibly be stupid enough to believe that he would be able to pull off that kind of a coup without significant outside help…."

"Maybe not, but either way we should warn Lord Hiashi that there might be an attempt on his life. Then we can worry about why he would want revenge on you without having to be concerned about the balance of power being upset in our absence. Do you think they would kill him or try to take him alive?"

"Given the number of people who would like to get their hands on a Hyuuga with his strength in such a central position in the clan, I would wager alive, but I doubt Hiashi would allow that to happen. Come with me,"

Neji glanced towards the other side of the village unconsciously and Shikamaru couldn't help but comment,

"Would you stop doing that?!" he hissed.

"Doing what?"

He mimicked Neji's movements and gave him a suspicious glare, "That! The little glance you do with your Byakugan, looking for Tenten…it's driving me crazy!"

"I am not looking for her! I didn't even do it on purpose. She probably isn't even awake by now. Why would I be looking for her?"

He realised too late that he had fallen into the Nara's trap. He hadn't been sure what Neji was looking for but had rapidly put two and two together to recognize the direction he was looking in and had tricked him into dropping his guard to defend himself.

"Unconscious or not, you keep glancing in the exact direction of her apartment and you have been in a bad mood, more so than usual, all night. Why don't you just go and talk to her about whatever stupid thing you did and apologize? Then we can get on with our job and you won't be so distracted."

Neji scoffed at his as they slowly made their way down from the roof and into the cover of the building, "I am not distracted, thank you very much – I have been working on this all week. And who says it has anything to do with her? What makes you so sure I have done something and need to apologize? Maybe she does."

Shikamaru almost laughed in disbelief, "Seriously man, whatever happened, it's not her. She is amazing, and _tolerant_ of your personality quirks, and you know that. But you two have been tense pretty much since you got back from your last mission, and avoiding each other for the last week or so…I've known you both for a long time, when you argue, this is always how it goes. So whatever kunai you broke, or insult you made, let's just go over there now and she can yell at you and then we can go back to work!"

"Absolutely not," he left no room for discussion but added after a momentary pause,

"I admit it, we had an argument…satisfied? And it was my fault and Hinata has already given me the disapproving glare so you can just put that away and we will get back to work because Tenten is staying at arms length as long as this fool is walking around free. She is too used to having my back in a fight and if she finds out she is just going to get in the firing line if he really does want me dead."

"You know that is so sweet, it is _almost_ like you really have feelings," Shikamaru teased him as they eased down the side of the building to a window around the back of the main wing, "I swear, the way you two argue sometimes is just like a married couple…"

Neji rolled his eyes and led Shikamaru through the window into one of the many corridors in the compound, both men donning their masks again to hide their identities in case they were encountered unexpectedly. As with all Hyuuga décor it was austere and functional and looked the same as almost every other corridor Shikamaru had ever seen in his visits here. Neji knew them all well and he led them through a series of corridors less often used and in which they thankfully met no one, until he arrived at a single sliding door. At this time of the evening, Neji expected his uncle would be in his study reading before retiring for the night, and since he didn't like to be disturbed, the odds of someone coming looking for him were fairly low. Neji reached out and slid the door open, allowing himself and Shikamaru to enter quietly before closing it again. Both men stood in front of Hiashi's desk as the clan leader looked up with some surprise at being interrupted. He must have been midway through a pot of green tea as the room was filled with the pleasant aroma and a steaming cup sat half empty to his right. When he spoke, his voice betrayed none of the shock he felt at having two ANBU shinobi suddenly appear in his study, late at night and dripping with rainwater.

"What brings two ANBU to my study so late this evening?" he enquired politely but there was a reprimanding undertone that Neji recognized immediately.

He removed his mask, Shikamaru following suit, and they both bowed slightly as they approached the desk, Hiashi standing when he suddenly recognized his nephew.

"We are sorry to disturb you Uncle, but we need to speak with you urgently."

Hiashi nodded gently and stood from the desk to signal his attention. Neji glanced at Shikamaru and then continued,

"Shikamaru and I have been tasked with investigating evidence that suggested a traitor has been operating within the village, sabotaging missions and resulting in the increased number of ninja who have been declared missing in action in recent months. We have been following a number of leads to determine the identity of the person behind these activities and subsequently uncovered a plot to hand the clan's bloodline trait over to an arms dealer and people trafficker who appears to have been behind the disappearances…"

He watched as Hiashi's expression darkened, though the clan leader didn't seem at all surprised. Given that there always seemed to be someone who wanted the Byakugan it was not exactly a shocking revelation that an arms dealer would be interested. Hiashi looked at both men before commenting,

"This is not welcome news, but admittedly unsurprising. Have you identified the traitor?"

"Yes," Shikamaru joined the conversation, producing a file of documents he and Neji had put together for the investigation and handing it to Hiashi, "and you won't be pleased but we have verified his identity. Neji himself has been running surveillance on him and uncovered his plans…"

Neji interrupted sensing his friend did not want to be the one to break the news, "He is Hyuuga, Uncle."

Hiashi started slightly and looked at Neji questioningly, "One of our own trying to betray our bloodline? Who?"

Shikamaru leaned over to turn the file in Hiashi's hand to the second page, which showed an image of the Hyuuga traitor and elaborated, "We are almost entirely certain he means to have you abducted and to murder Neji in some sort of revenge."

"That last part remains to be seen," Neji added, "but we are certain of the danger to you and felt need to warn you before taking this any further."

Hiashi nodded as he scanned the file quickly before turning to his desk and two adjacent chairs and gesturing for both men to sit. They obliged and the clan leader sighed before addressing his nephew.

"If this is indeed the situation, then Shikamaru is correct – it is you he seeks revenge on, Neji."

At the confused expression that washed over Neji's face he elaborated, "I doubt you remember much about him since you have seen very little of each other since you were children, but he knows all too well about you, and has been jealous of your success for many years."

"What? Why?"

"You have always had prodigious talent, Neji. You may have outgrown the arrogance and anger of your adolescence but your have never been found wanting in your ability to continually improve and hone your skills as a shinobi or your use of the Byakugan. Your cosuin, though you are perhaps as distantly related as two Hyuuga can be, has lived in the shadow of your reputation and achievements for a long time, and I suspect is made even more jealous by your stronger position within the clan despite being of the branch house," he paused to let that sink in for a moment before adding,

"You should know, Nephew, that there are some among the council of elders who would have you take over leadership rather than Hinata."

Neji's facial expression must have looked as shocked as he felt, because his uncle gave a rare smirk as he explained,

"Though you may not be aware of it, there has been a significant change of attitudes amongst many of the main branch since your genin days. You and Hinata and my soon-to-be son-in-law have made sure of it. You have represented the clan with honour and skill. With the much-improved relationships between you, Hinata and myself, and despite the fact that the Council is particularly hard on you, you have earned respect from many who initially dismissed you. For this, you have apparently become a target for the jealousy of others who have not achieved such standing."

Shikamaru glanced at Neji, who looked totally taken aback that all these changes could have happened and he hadn't even noticed. He had certainly never considered his life as something to be envied by others and definitely not to the extent that they would want him dead. That could be dealt with later though, for now they had to prevent any harm coming to Hiashi.

"Regardless of the situation, Uncle, we cannot allow a these men to get their hands on our bloodline trait or on you. It is possible they may be planning a coup within the leadership of the clan so he must have help inside the compound. Can you think of anyone else who might wish to have you removed?"

"None I would believe could stoop to this level, but that doesn't mean there isn't someone. Do you have any idea when he plans to make his move?"

"We can't be sure," Shikamaru answered carefully, "but it won't be tonight and I feel we could safely say we have a few more days before they are ready – he is set to go on a two day mission tomorrow morning so it would have to be after he returns."

Hiashi nodded and then stood, followed by the two ANBU and led them to the door.

"In which case we will have to bide our time. You should notify his team leader to ensure he is monitored during the mission and I will increase security here as subtlety as possible to avoid warning any co-conspirators."

Shikamaru agreed, "Neji should also stay at the compound as much as possible. He can monitor any developments and ensure you have someone you trust watching your back. I will go back to the tavern the arms dealer spends his time at and see if I can learn anything more about their plans."

They bid Lord Hiashi goodnight and parted ways silently into the dark night.


	14. Chapter 14

Tenten had been pacing back and forth in front of the Hyuuga compound for almost a quarter of an hour, which despite making her less lethargic than she had been earlier that morning, had only served to heighten her stress levels.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself as she pivoted on her right foot and continued wearing a long straight line in the ground, "it should not be my responsibility to chase him and apologise when he was the one out of line."

She turned again and continued, distractedly fidgeting with a blunt kunai she had found in the hidden panel inside one of her winter boots when she pulled them on that morning. It flipped back and forth between her fingers as she waged battle with herself.

"Then again, I am the one who slapped him…but he did deserve it…but I hate not resolving an argument and he knows that!"

Turn.

"If he wanted to work it out, he would have come and found me already."

Turn.

"I know he needs a cool down period but he never takes this long, he likes the make-up sex too much."

Turn.

"Aargh…I can't believe I am even worrying about this!"

Turn.

"He probably doesn't even care that he was a complete and total ass…"

She was interrupted mid-step by a familiar shadow that fell across her path and looked up in time to see the owner quirk his eyebrow to indicate the weapon in her hand.

"If you have come to kill me you are going to need something sharper."

Neji stopped a respectable two feet from her and crossed his arms, "What are you doing here, Tenten?"

Tenten blushed at being snuck up on and then suddenly felt silly for even being there. He didn't look anywhere near as distressed as she still felt about it so when she answered all that came out was, "I'm meeting Hinata for lunch."

She could feel Neji's violet eyes appraising her closely even without making eye contact with him, and for once understood the disconcerted feeling other people got when he directed his gaze on them.

"It's only ten-thirty in the morning. Aren't you a little early?"

He was still staring at Tenten when she looked up and no matter how much she tried to stop it, her cheeks continued to feel hot.

"Obviously that's not the only reason I came here," she snapped, then took a deep breath and added, "I came to apologise for slapping you in the face. You deserved it…but it wasn't exactly my finest moment."

If he hadn't suddenly tensed across his shoulders she would have thought his answering chuckle was sincere, "Wow, that is almost as good as one of my apologies."

"Well I notice one of those isn't forthcoming…" Tenten bristled at his surprisingly blasé response. Clearly it wasn't as well worded as she had intended but at least she was trying to communicate. In fact, as she looked at him, she could not even read his posture in the same way she usually could. Ordinarily, they were both highly attuned to the other's body language and non-verbal cues, but right now he was closed off and she had no idea why he kept staring at her.

"Look Neji, I'm sorry. Okay? I shouldn't have hit you and I could have worded that better but the point is you were awful…you made me feel awful…but I am here now trying to talk to you so we can get past it."

He shifted uncomfortably but didn't say anything.

"I know you aren't a fan of talking about your feelings but you can at least normally express them somehow. You usually cool down and come back."

Now he looked more uncomfortable and almost a little guilty but he was still appraising her with an odd expression.

"Why didn't you come back?"

"You told me to get out, remember…" looking around he noticed they were still alone, but he didn't like having this discussion in full view of the compound gates and wanted to wrap it up and get her out of here before anyone saw them together.

"I didn't tell you never to come back…" her voice sounded so small and he glanced up to see her eyes shiny with unshed tears. It was like a knife in the center of his chest realizing that he was responsible for that, but it was not the time nor the place.

"Ten, I can not do this right now. I am busy here, and I don't have time to get into it with you right in front of the compound."

He crossed his arms, schooled his face into a stern, unaffected expression and breathed slowly, trying to stay composed while he watched the most important person in his life swipe surreptitiously at the stray tears escaping down her cheeks.

"Right, of course. You need to be at the place you hate most in the world. Why wouldn't you want to be here?"

Neji could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up – that creepy feeling of being watched only a Hyuuga could perfect – and turned his head to the left to see the last person he had wanted to cross paths with walking towards the compound gates. His traitorous relative had obviously completed his mission and had inconveniently arrived home at the same time Tenten had decided to drop by. His penetrating gaze swept over both of them before making eye contact with Neji and the sinister intent he saw there forced him to unconsciously sidestep to place his body between those eyes and Tenten, who was struggling to keep her breathing even.

"Just go home, Tenten. It's done."

He caught movement to his right and suddenly Hinata was standing beside him, having seen the pair as she passed the gate and come out to see Tenten wiping her eyes. She gave her cousin an incredulous and pointed look before stepping in between them to take Tenten by the arm and turn them about face. As she led her distressed friend towards the village Neji heard her sooth, "Come on, Tenten. Let's get some tea and sit down for a minute."

Neji turned away to face his adversary, who was still watching Tenten and Hinata, fixing him with a carefully blank expression and well-practiced air of arrogance. The bloodline trait was no longer activated but there was a disturbing quality about his expression that unsettled Neji.

"Trouble with the ladies, Neji?"

Neji scoffed and tipped his chin up in reply, "Hardly. She was here looking for Hinata." Then he turned and stalked off towards his quarters, hoping to draw attention away from the women but knowing all the while that he was too late.


	15. Chapter 15

Shikamaru was angrier than he expected to be by the time he saw the lights in his window upon re-entering Konoha. After rethinking their earlier decision to remain at the compound, the strategist had suggested to Neji that both he and Lord Hiashi quietly remove themselves to somewhere safe where no one was likely to come looking for them. Shikamaru's home was the agreed upon place where Neji and he would meet when setting off on particularly covert missions together, so it was no surprise to the Nara when he entered the lounge room to see both uncle and nephew engaged in quiet, intense conversation. They looked up when he entered, and despite being more than a little outside his rights to comment, Shikamaru couldn't help but feel that the longstanding trust developed of the years had been dented by this latest development. Unusually, he couldn't bring himself to keep quiet about it either, and so he rounded on Neji without pausing to consider that his uncle was in the room.

"I respect that you like to keep your personal life to yourself, Neji, but you still seem to forget that other people are victims of your actions, just as much as you are."

Neji's expression suggested that he was taken aback by the abrupt statement, "What do you mean?"

"You never told me you and Tenten were together…"

And there it was…complete, mind-numbing silence and unadultered shock splashed across both Hyuuga's faces.

"I…" Neji started an instinctive denial but Shikamaru cut back in,

"And don't deny it, because we had a deal. Even if we didn't, the very least you could have done was tell me you were sleeping with my friend…"

"Whatever you think you…" Nej had stood but fell silent and still again when Shikamaru pinned him with his shadow jutsu.

"Oh cut the bullshit, Hyuuga! We had an agreement for missions like this – all the dirty secrets laid out on the table so no one could use them to play us. If we both know what is going on we can make sure our families don't end up involved and it all doesn't come back to bite us on ass. I was upfront with you about Temari. And what do you do? You lie, you keep secrets and you put my friend in danger. She is like family to me too, Neji…how do you think I would feel telling her something happened to you and not knowing how much that would affect her? How do you think she would feel? And worse, what if something happened to her because you can't relinquish your complete and total control to anyone?!" He released Neji and felt much better after getting that off his chest.

"It's not like that, Shikamaru…" Neji realised he was caught red-handed. They had indeed agreed to share any personal information that might be used against them in the event they were taken hostage or an operation compromised in any way. Aside from being friends, the two men were more and more often paired together on these particularly sensitive ANBU missions and while the intent was to remain anonymous, all ANBU were aware of the possible consequences if their identities were exposed. Neji and Shikamaru had developed a strong mutual trust and he was beginning to realise that by being so wrapped up in keeping his personal life with Tenten away from the prying eyes of the clan, he may have worn thin more than just her trust in him.

Hiashi chose this moment to remind them of his presence, "What is Shikamaru talking about, Neji?"

Neji looked between his uncle and his friend, suddenly feeling as though he were sixteen again and being caught sneaking out of his quarters, "I never intended to deceive either of you. Shikamaru, I know how close you and Tenten are but it happened unexpectedly and by the time it was serious, I couldn't figure out how to broach the subject with Tenten, let alone with you. What was I supposed to say…'I'll meet you at the gates at three…and just for the record, I'm sleeping with my best friend but no one can find out because my family won't approve'?"

An honest smirk crossed Shikamaru's face and he felt his anger dissipate completely, "Fair comment."

"And I guess I took advantage of the fact that you would protect her because she is important to you too."

"Always."

Hiashi had been listening from his seat with a slight frown on his face but stood and addressed his nephew, "So it is true then? You have been sleeping with your ex-teammate?"

Neji sighed, clenching and unclenching his jaw, "Yes."

"Okaayyy, I sense a Hyuuga argument and I am all for letting the two of you fight this out but now is really not the time. We need to take these guys down. Your big secret is backfiring because somehow your new _favourite_ cousin must have seen you and Tenten together and now he is offering her up as a gift to this lunatic arms dealer."

"What?!"

Both Hyuugas responded in unison, forcing Shikamaru to hold up a hand for silence. He moved across to a side table, opening the draw and began arming himself as he elaborated, "I didn't catch the whole conversation but the point is that he wants you to suffer and thinks that 'gifting' Tenten to this guy to do whatever he pleases with, is that best way to do that. If I had known you were lovers I would have told you to get her out of town before this started…send her to stay with Temari in Suna where she would be safe. Maybe we should've had someone else take your place to avoid a conflict of interest. Regardless, I think it is safe to say we are officially losing control of this situation…

"At risk of making that worse, there is something else you should both know…"


	16. Chapter 16

The sound of the door slamming open was enough to have Tenten sitting straight up in bed, wide awake and suddenly aware of a familiar chakra presence, moments before the lights flickered on and Shikamaru strode purposefully into the room. He looked decidedly more stressed than she had seen him in a long time as he scanned the room before looking back to her, not the slightest bit concerned about barging into her bedroom in the middle of the night.

"Time to go, Tenten." he gestured toward the door, "Get whatever you need and get dressed. Quickly."

Tenten sat in shocked incomprehension for a moment longer before leaping into action. She knew the ANBU captain almost as well as Lee and Neji, and if he was showing up at her apartment in the middle of the night with that tense look on his face and demanding she leave, then she trusted he had a damn good reason. He made no effort to leave or provide her with any privacy as she quickly threw off her shirt and grabbed three sets of clean clothes - one to put on and two she proceeded to pack into her training bag that was sitting on the nearby chair. As she pulled on the pants, Shikamaru promptly snatched up the bag and tossed the strap across his shoulder, his gaze flickering back and forth between Tenten and the window.

"What's going on, Shika?" she used his nickname infrequently, normally only when she wanted to have a serious or important conversation with him. He didn't miss the meaning, and his expression softened somewhat before hardening again as he explained the situation.

"You're not safe here. There has been a development in our investigation. We have to go."

He was out of the room before she could respond and she struggled to collect her thoughts before rushing after him into the hallway.

"Why am _I_ not safe? I don't even _know_ anything about the investigation, it has nothing to do with me."

Shikamaru turned and fixed her with a look that said it didn't matter what she did or didn't know.

"Later, not here," he stated simply.

He started out the door and Tenten took one quick look around before hurrying after him down the back streets of Konoha. Ten minutes later they turned off the street and entered a small house surrounded by beautiful trees and gardens near the outskirts of the village. There was a single soft light glowing in the front window. It took a few moments for her to recognise it, but Tenten had been here before, once. It was always more difficult to identify landmarks in the dark, even as a ninja, and as they drew closer she silently wracked her brain as to why this place was so vaguely familiar. She had been here before, she was sure of it. The gardens provided a certain amount of privacy from the nearby homes and were different to other gardens in the village.

Then as they reached the front door the realisation struck her. _Temari. _That was who she had come here to see. This was where Temari stayed when she visited Konoha, but Tenten had no idea why Shikamaru would bring her here.

"What are we doing here?" she whispered quietly as they slid the front door open and stepped inside.

"Hiding you," the deep voice was instantly recognisable but Tenten was nonetheless shocked that she had not sensed Neji's chakra before entering the house. He materialised from the shadows in the corner of the room as he stepped forward into the light.

"Neji," when they had last spoken the conversation had been something of an all out fight, and she was still so conflicted about their encounter that she couldn't decide whether she wanted to hit him or hug him. She settled for standing completely still, sensing the tension humming through both men.

"Ten," he stepped over and reached his left hand out to stroke her cheek, "are you alright?"

His arm slid down to her shoulder as he came to a stop beside her and directed a grateful nod in Shikamaru's direction. She could almost feel the two taller men communicating silently above her head as she automatically leaned into him despite herself.

"I'm fine. But I would be better if someone could explain to me what is going on," she returned with a slightly sharp tone as she turned from one to the other in search of an answer. Shikamaru looked toward Neji, who sighed slightly and tightened his arm around her before answering,

"It is a precaution..." he started but Tenten was tired and not interested in secretive games in the middle of the night.

"Because of the investigation into whoever was doing whatever the Hokage wanted to two of you to look into. But why am _I_ here?" she demanded.

"As I said," Neji continued with a slight edge to his voice, he had no time to fight with her and he was sick of doing so, even if it was his fault. All he wanted to do was protect her, "it is a precaution to ensure that you are not caught up in the collateral."

Shikamaru noticed the confusion flash across Tenten's face and saw the subtle but visible pain in Neji's eyes and decided to help them both out.

"We found out that someone was feeding information to an arms dealer, the brother of one of our top criminal targets, who was eliminated in one of your missions about twelve months ago. We have identified the traitor, as a member of the Hyuuga clan suffering from a serious case of jealous vengence," Shikamaru paused to allow Tenten time to make the necessary connections.

"They were stealing clan secrets?" her head whipped around to stare at Neji. He didn't make eye contact, instead letting his eyes settle somewhere around her right shoulder. She wondered briefly if Lord Hiashi was aware of this and what his reaction would be if he didn't already know. She turned back to Shikamaru and questioned, "what were they looking for?"

Neji's body stiffened beside her and she could see Shikamaru wince before he answered.

"Alongside the torture and death of Neji and his Uncle, and usurping of the clan leadership…you."

Tenten shuddered involuntarily at the word torture being associated with either of those names – she had a lot of respect for Neji's uncle despite their somewhat strained relationship – before comprehending his full statement, "Me?"

She would have laughed if they were making any kind of sense at all but it was as if every word that Shikamaru said made less sense than the last. Was it possible they had both gone slightly crazy from all this intense, cloak and dagger investigative work? She shook her head slightly,

"I think maybe you two have been Jūken-ed one too many times, because in case you haven't noticed, I'm _not_ Hyuuga. Not even close. I don't even have a clan. If they wanted to kill Neji and Lord Hiashi, what would they want with me?" she questioned before adding, "I would never help them!"

"You're right, you are not a Hyuuga," Shikamaru explained cryptically while Neji remained suspiciously silent against her, left hand wrapped around her shoulder with his fingers splayed wide and pulling slightly towards himself, as though he could physically shield her from the conversation, "You're even better."

Tenten had never in her life been told she was better than Neji. In fact she was pretty certain almost no one had been, and judging from the stricken look on his face he either didn't like the idea or he felt deeply responsible for it. She couldn't quite tell which.

"Better how?" she darkly interrupted Shikamaru, who was mumbling something about how troublesome 'it' all was, "What do they want?"

"They want you because you are the perfect leverage," he met her eye with an expression designed to convey his seriousness in this matter, "Neji is an unrivaled prodigy of the clan and has possibly the strongest Byakugan in his family, we all know that. The two of you know each other so well you might as well be the same person at times," he then proceeded to enumerate the lesser reasons that someone might be interested in abducting Tenten, though she began to feel they were a build to his main point and not the point itself.

"Everyone has seen you train and fight together, and your training means that you know his blind spot like no one else - you know how to protect it and how to attack it. You are a renowned Weapons Mistress. Neji is so familiar with your chakra that he can pull you into his Heavenly Spin. You are the only person I know capable of matching him in a spar..." Shikamaru trailed off, unsure what else to say, and glanced over to Neji as though checking whether he had left anything out.

"He can't _pull_ me into the Heavenly Spin," Tenten corrected him absently, "I can stand beside him while he does it around us both…but that doesn't mean anything - we spent a long time and plenty of injuries trying to get that right before he learned how to do it. And I would never kill him, by the way, even when he is an ass," she shook her head and frowned as she spoke, tossing her wavy, unbound hair around with each jerk of her head.

"It doesn't matter how we worked it out, Ten." Neji spoke for the first time since he had greeted her, his tone soft and a little hurt,

"They know what I am capable of and they know they can't get to me directly. Originally I think he just intended to kill me but after he saw us together this morning he must have realised that you were a weakness they might exploit…" he trailed off uncertainly which caught her immediate attention – Neji was so seldom uncertain that it seemed utterly unnatural but it had become a bit of a habit lately, and it worried her.

"Okay," she conceded as she pulled away from Neji to stand between both men, "so they want to abduct me? Or kill me to get to you? Either way, what was their plan? Break into my apartment and finish me off, then what?"

"All we are sure of," sighed Shikamaru, "is that they want the secrets of the Byakugan and possibly other special techniques in exchange for helping Neji's cousin murder him and take over the clan. As per so many lunatic criminals out there, they seem to have an unhealthy obsession with attaining the Byakugan by any means necessary. Neji himself won't get them the Byakugan," he looked to Neji in deference. The rest of the story was his to tell and Shikamaru was not even sure he wanted to be there to witness it.

"As it is well known that a branch Hyuuga is useless for that - once we die the Byakugan is sealed and useless." Neji continued the explanation, carefully gauging Tenten's reaction with each word. She noticed his eyes drop for a moment and an emotion she couldn't identify crossed his face for just a second before he continued,

"Whether they were able to kill me or not, they would get nothing from me, and the odds of being able to take down Hiashi without killing him are slim, especially now that we have removed him to Shikamaru's apartment. They would get his bloodline trait but that is all. Because of me, they have found an attractive third option to obtain it and the all it's secrets…you."

Everything they said made sense, but whether it was the abrupt disruption from sleep or just pure inability to follow their thought patterns, Tenten still was not sure where she fit in. Shikamaru could clearly see this, but Neji was looking at her as though she should know exactly what a threat she was and how they would use her. She would never betray him, nor Konoha so long as she had control of herself, though it made sense that a genjustu used on her could be a concern.

"I am here so you can protect me from a genjustu?" she questioned slowly, uncertainly.

Neji met her eyes one last time, with a definite look of determination and perhaps something akin to guilt, "You're pregnant, Tenten. You are here so I can protect my family."

An ice-cold shiver ran through the length of her body at those very unexpected words, stilling her immediately, but she refused to believe what she was hearing. At this point, Shikamaru mumbled something about checking the perimeter and backed quietly out of the room so as to allow them some privacy, and possibly protect himself from any adverse reaction Tenten might have to this sudden news.

"What? Don't be ridiculous, Neji. I..I am not pregnant. I'm fine…I've just been a little tired…and stressed lately…and kind of moody...I mean...it's not impossible but it's not...no..."

"Ten," he was pleading in his use of her nickname and fully aware of her suddenly backing unconsciously towards the nearby couch. He let her, staying back as she sat down heavily. She appeared to be weighing the probabilities in her head, evaluating the possible truth of his statement against her own certainty that he must be completely and utterly wrong. After a few tense moments she turned to look up at him, eyes wide and shining in the low light.

"How?" she whispered with her hand over her mouth.

Neji moved silently to sit beside her, eyebrow slightly raised as he half-jokingly answered, "You don't really need me to explain that, do you?"

"N...No," Tenten stumbled over her answer, unsure whether to be upset that he found this at all funny, and torn between wanting to burst into shocked tears and throw kunai at him, "I just don't understand. Why would...I don't feel like I'm…How could you possibly know that when I don't?" she finished, completely uncertain.

Neji was perched on the edge of the couch now, elbows resting on his knees as he carefully listened to her. He noticed for the first time since she had arrived just how rushed she must have been when she left - her hair was still loose, shimmering in the soft yellow light. She was wearing what he knew were her favourite pair of comfortable boots thrown together with random pants and shirt. She looked decidedly vulnerable and betrayed by his knowledge of her physical state, and he berated himself again for not mentioning it to her as soon as he found out. If he hadn't been so busy being a petty, possessive coward then he might have.

"I was going to tell you," he started, "before all of this happened. It was an accident that I even found out."

"What do you mean?" she looked over at him while leaning back to pull her knees to her chest in a self-protective manner.

"I used my Byakugan on you at Hinata's engagement party. When we were in the hallway and I used it to make sure no one was around, I turned back to you with it activated and noticed a disruption in your chakra." He glanced furtively in her direction to assess her response but Tenten remained uncharacteristically still. He turned his eyes back to the floor again.

"I was not sure what it meant, but I tried it again a few days later and the disruption was even more obvious," he ignored her irritated look at his admitting to spying on her with his bloodline trait, "While I was doing research for the investigation, I found a book that described non-combative uses for my bloodline trait and there was no one else I could think to ask, so I showed it to Hinata and she recognised it as a second chakra signature. I didn't know how to tell you," he finished lamely. Neji knew how much Tenten hated being left out, and the fact that he had not informed her of her own condition would probably not get him back in her good graces anytime soon.

"Hinata knows?!"

"Yes…" he winced at her tone and then saw recognition cross her face – Tenten had seen Hinata less than 24 hours ago and she hadn't mentioned anything, despite being more concerned than necessary over Tenten's stress levels after her altercation with Neji outside the compound.

"You made her lie to me." It was a statement of fact more than a question but he answered anyway.

His tone was rose slightly as he attempted to explain, "I was trying to protect you when we had that fight – I thought if I made you mad enough and could keep you at arms length then something like this wouldn't happen. I realised as soon as I walked out that it was a mistake, so I asked Hinata to talk to you, make sure you stayed at a distance but that you were alright. I knew you would expect me to cool down and come back like usual, that you would notice when I didn't."

A look of understanding crossed Tenten's face then and she looked less uncomfortable and confused than she had since she arrived, "That's why she told me to let you work it out," he nodded affirmation but still avoided eye contact. She had always been unbelievably intuitive when it came to him.

"Neji, look at me…" he raised his gaze to oblige her and was surprised when she turned to face towards him, taking his hands and resting them under her own on top of her bent knees, "Be honest…did you mean any of what you said in that fight?"

She felt his body tense where their hands touched and where her toes were pressed against the underside of his thigh.

"Not the way it came out, no."

"But…you were angry at me for taking those missions?"

"I was angry, but at myself and I took it out on you. I…After I read the reports I felt responsible for you having to take them…" Neji often found it difficult to talk about his feelings even with Tenten, especially when they sounded as inarticulate as they did right now.

"So what you are trying to tell me is that you snooped through my mission reports and got details I didn't want you to know and felt guilty about it being your fault even though it wasn't. Then you go and get in a fight with me and leave 'to protect me' without even telling me I might be in danger, and knowing that I am pregnant, so you send your cousin to place peacemaker and spy on me! While you continue to avoid me, I might add. Then to top it all off you have Shikamaru kidnap me in the middle of the night so you can explain? That is ridiculous…" she didn't seem anywhere near upset with the idea now and he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Well, when you put it like that it sounds ridiculous, but…"

"And incredibly sweet" she finished for him.

"What?" his eyes shot back up to look at her and the smile on her face was both dazzling and sympathetic.

"I love that you want so badly to protect me, Neji. Knowing who am I, what I do and that I don't need it…I've only ever had myself to depend on and you have always been a bit of a lone wolf so the fact that you want to play that role in my life is part of why I love you. Having said that, did it ever occur to you to just talk to me about how you felt, maybe ask if I would stop taking those missions or why I chose to take them in the first place? To push me to talk about it even though I don't always want to?"

Now it was Neji's turn to be thrown for a loop by an unexpected confession. He had always thought he was overprotective, selfish and sometimes outside his rights in wanting to shield her from danger. Never had he expected that it meant so much to her, or to hear her say that she loved him. She loved him! And suddenly the existence of an unborn child composed of a little of each of them took on a whole new depth of meaning and importance he hadn't appreciated until now.

"Why did you take them?" was all he knew how to properly articulate while all these emotions washed through him. Tenten's hands turned his over to lace their fingers absently as she explained,

"I hate doing them, and sometimes it's difficult even to sleep next to you afterwards – it just feels so deceitful…or dirty…but I did it because before we were together, if it wasn't me, it was Hinata or Sakura or Ino, and they all had people in their lives who couldn't handle having them go on those types of assignments. I didn't have that and was less affected by it than they were so when the missions came my way, I took them. I wanted to protect them, just like you try to protect me. That's what you do for people you care about."

He nodded his understanding but was gazing down at their linked fingers, contemplatively, "So why not stop after we started…seeing…each other?"

"Because your family is more observant than you often give them credit for…if I had stopped those missions right when we started spending time together again, it would have been obvious why. And because you never expressed any aversion to that part of my job, just got annoyed when I needed down time to ease back into being home. I always just thought you were frustrated that I took so long to readjust, not that you were hurt by my job…" understanding finally passed between them as their eyes met and it was as though a huge weight had been lifted off both of their shoulders. The impending confrontation still settled at the back of Neji's mind but the feelings of jealous betrayal that had been slowly consuming him for so long were suddenly doused and the two of them were back on the same page.

Tenten lifted their hands and rose on her knees to place her right one over Neji's thighs and seat herself in his lap. Guiding his hands to settle on her waist, she then gently pressed hers against the sides of his face. The pads of her thumbs rested just below the corners of his eyes and while there was no heat between them, there was something very intimate in the gesture. She felt his hands warm up, an indication that he was using his chakra control to sooth her muscles, and it brought a small smile to her face. He closed his eyes to focus on the feeling for a moment before she asked, "Are you okay with this?"

He opened his eyes questioningly. Tenten indicated toward her abdomen with her eyes and he smiled slightly, then leaned in to kiss her softly on the mouth, "Terrified, but very okay with it."

A cheeky little laugh escaped her, "Terrified? Big tough Neji Hyuuga is terrified?"

His lip quirked up in a smirk but he looked straight into her eyes with an intensity that always left her short of breath and whispered, "You've always scared me…"

"How so?"

"You're the only thing in my life I'm afraid to lose…"


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks for the reviews - it took a long time to get there but the updates will be consistent from now on. Promise.  
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"Do you want to look again?"

Tenten had moved to lean back against the arm of the couch, legs drapped across Neji's lap as he rested his still warm palms on her, one on her shin and the other under her figure hugging black shirt, directly over her belly. He had been staring unknowingly at the hand on her belly and looked up at her hopefully, "Am I allowed to?"

A short, sharp laugh escaped her and he thought it was the most honest sound he had heard in days, "As long as I know about it, yes…" she smiled and watched his face as he activated his bloodline trait and examined the second chakra signature pulsing slowly underneath his hand. It was hard to read what emotions he was feeling when the Byakugan was active but she thought she might have seen a fleeting glimpse of awe as he examined what was completely invisible to her,

"What do you see?"

"Trouble, I expect…" Shikamaru was standing in the doorway, having apparently come back into the room without either of them noticing. Maybe Neji had been more distressed than Tenten gave him credit for, but his interruption snapped them both back to the immediate reality of the impending confrontation.

Neji's eyes returned to normal and he removed his hand from under her shirt, but made no move to rise or lift her legs from his lap. Tenten had the feeling he was trying to soak up an extra moment or two of peace so she turned to Shikamaru to ask the question that had been forming in her mind for the last couple of minutes.

"I admittedly don't know much about the inner workings of clan politics, but something about this situation just does not feel right to me..."

"What do you mean?"

She tossed her hair back over her shoulder so she could see him more clearly before answering, "Well, don't you think it's a little strange that this guy thinks he will get away with conspiring with the enemy," she ticked off her list using her fingers as she spoke, "murder, abduction and betraying clan secrets and still be able to take over the leadership?"

"Hn," Neji's response didn't exactly inspire certainty one way or another and upon seeing her expectant expression he elaborated, "There is no way he would get away with it but that doesn't mean he doesn't think he would. My uncle said he was bent on revenge so it stands to reason that he isn't thinking clearly…"

"Speaking of which, we should go and get into position before your cousin's associates arrive, they should be here within the hour." Shikamaru shared a meaningful look with Neji and moved towards the front door.

Neji followed his lead, lifting Tenten's legs from his lap and allowing her to rise with him. She instantly moved towards Shikamaru and the door but was stopped by her boyfriend's hand wrapping around her upper arm,

"Oh no you don't…you are staying here." He didn't leave the statement open for negotiation as he stepped in front of her to block her path, but she tried regardless.

"What do mean 'I'm staying here'? What if you need backup? You're probably already outnumbered, I should come with you." She imitated his voice when she repeated him.

Neji's subsequent expression suggested she had lost her mind and Shikamaru had to hide a smile at being able to see the two of them stand toe to toe in opposition. They were so perfect for each other it was ridiculous.

"We didn't bring you here so that you could walk straight into the firing line, we brought you here to hide you, Ten. You are staying here, where I don't have to worry about someone using you as a bargaining chip or worse." He said it with force but there was a conversational tone to it that she hoped meant he would be flexible.

"But…"

"No…" His voice maintained his command despite remaining low and, sensing defeat, Tenten slumped sulkily against the side of the couch and crossed her arms over her chest, "Please don't make me argue with you, just do as I ask?"

He lowered his head to catch her eye and waited for her reluctant nod before leaning in to kiss her quickly on the forehead, "Thank you."

Before he could turn around her right hand reached out to grab the front of his shirt and jerk him forward into her. She kissed him forcefully and hoped the emotion she wanted to convey came across as strongly as she meant it to, "Be careful…" she glanced towards Shikamaru and added, "both of you."

The two men nodded and she released her hold on Neji, watching them leave before taking a look around the house. She thought it might be worth doing quick check of the house so she quietly moved through the different rooms, checking entry points and refreshing her memory of the floor plan. It didn't take very long and soon she found herself sitting in the lounge room again, trying to decide the best way to spend the time without worrying or thinking too hard. The information overload she had experienced tonight was made more intense by the lateness of the hour and having being suddenly torn from sleep, but she wasn't overly surprised. While she definitely hadn't expected she was pregnant, she had been feeling a little off – more tired, slower at training, quicker to anger – and after the dizzy spell with Lee she had considered going to get Sakura to check it out but hadn't gotten around to it.

A baby…Tenten had never really considered having children. She worked all the time, which wasn't an ideal home environment, and having never had a family herself wasn't sure she would make much of a mother. She wouldn't tell Neji, but she had wondered once or twice what it would be like for them to maybe get married and have a family. The one thing she was sure of was that he would be a great father. A smirk crossed her face as she imagined him as a dad; he was outwardly hard and cold but privately very gentle and attentive. She could envision him scaring away a daughter's suitors or teaching a son to use his bloodline trait, teaching them his cooking skills or protecting them from nightmares…

But there was one glaring reason he had never wanted children and she remembered him mentioning it back when they were teenagers. His curse seal. Neji didn't want anyone to suffer that and had always sworn that so long as the clan continued to brand members with it, he would never bring a child into the world. Tenten could understand why he felt that way, but she had never been faced with the reality of it before. There was a strong likelihood that the clan elders would find out that Neji was the baby's father, assuming they didn't know by the end of this investigation, and find a way to brand it like they did him. Tenten shuddered at the thought, knowing that neither her nor Neji would allow that to be done. They would fight whoever they had to in order to prevent imprisoning their child in that curse.

Leaning back, she rested her hands on her stomach, wishing she could see what Neji and Hinata did when they looked at her and wondering how long it would take for her to be able to notice a change. Hinata must be dying to talk to her about it. She was good at keeping secrets but she loved kids and Tenten thought she would be excited to have a niece or nephew to spoil. Neji might disagree, but she would even go so far as to say that his uncle would be pleased at the addition. While Hiashi hadn't stopped the Elders from continuing to use the curse seal, he was not a supporter of it and there had been rumours that he was considering to propose discontinuing the practice. Perhaps a great-niece or –nephew would be just the impetus for the change.

And suddenly that was it…that niggling feeling that something wasn't right fell into place and an explanation for the planned leadership coup took her breath away. Maybe that wasn't it; maybe she was just making leaping connections because of her heightened emotions.

Or maybe they really did need back up.

Standing up, Tenten located her training bag, which Shikamaru had deposited on the kitchen table, and began rummaging through it for a couple of spare kunai that she kept in there for emergencies. She hadn't expected to need her arsenal when she rushed out of the apartment so hadn't brought much, but there were enough to maintain her lethal reputation if she needed them. Neji had told her to stay put but she couldn't sit here and wonder, and as much as he hated to admit it – someone had to protect his blind spot. Wracking her memory of the earlier conversation, she grabbed her things and set out for Shikamaru's apartment to find Hiashi. If she was right, she would need his help.


	18. Chapter 18

After reaching the compound and locating the men who were using the cover of darkness to sneak into Hiashi's quarters, Neji and Shikamaru had waited to see their reaction when they realised the clan leader was not asleep in his bed, as expected. They shared a quick, silent conversation using only gestures and facial expressions, and decided to trail the men out as they emerged from the building. There were three of them, just as Shikamaru had overheard there would be, and they met the Hyuuga traitor at the end of the main hall, at which point the group entered a room Neji had seen the inside of only a handful of times in his life – the meeting room of the clan elders.

Frowning slightly, he wondered why they would want to go in there and came back blank. Hiashi did not spend any significant amount of time there and would not be inside at three-thirty in the morning. Nor did the Elders use it unless they were all meeting to discuss clan politics or whatever else they actually discussed when they did meet. Neji generally didn't care, and aside from when he was occasionally called in to explain his latest insubordination or lack of interest in clan expectations, he was happy to not know what they were discussing. They left the door open and Neji was careful to make sure he and Shikamaru didn't inadvertently give themselves away by moving into the light spilling from the doorway. There was a soft murmuring sound indicating that at least two people inside the room were carrying on a conversation but it was impossible to make out the words so the two men backtracked up the hallway to develop a plan.

Shikamaru's strategic mind had been sorting through the details of the investigation since Tenten's comment earlier and he still couldn't figure out why it had left a niggling feeling in the back of his mind. He turned to Neji to voice his analysis, "This is a trap."

The expression on Neji's face suggested he had suspected as much but had no idea why they would be expected. Someone might have seen them or overheard one of their meetings. Not that it mattered now – Shikamaru had a plan.

"You go in alone first…" the intention was to lull whoever was in the room into a false sense of security by sending the very person they wanted in alone and unprotected. He outlined his plan and they came to an agreement on their roles before Neji moved to enter the room and confront his cousin.

His expression was carefully blank but he was inwardly shocked to see that as well as the three associates they had followed, his cousin was standing before two of the Elders, conversing as though this were an utterly commonplace situation. All the men turned to look at Neji as he entered, and the prodigy cast a carefully disinterested gaze over them before commenting, "A little late for a council meeting isn't it?"

Standing with his arms casually by his side, he stayed a good distance away from them in a stance that allowed freedom to move for his concealed kunai if necessary but still appeared non-threatening. He knew his own clan techniques would not be enough to prevail in the event of a fight – they would be too easily anticipated and matched. Neji's cousin smiled jovially and addressed him as though they were old friends, though an undercurrent of malice was palpable.

"Ah Neji, a little late for you to be wandering the halls also, I should think. You haven't happened to bump into any cute brunettes again recently, have you?" Neji shrugged nonchalantly in response.

"Not recently, no." Shikamaru had speculated that his cousin would try to push Neji's buttons to make him lose focus but he was determined to react as little as possible the attempt.

"Such a shame. My friends here are so looking forward to becoming…acquainted with her."

He said it with the most sadistic smile Neji had ever seen and it made his skin crawl even as he shrugged it off. Shikamaru willed Neji to keep control of his temper long enough to get them to become complacent and admit their culpability.

"I doubt your friends could handle her, _cousin_. Stronger men have been brought down by her than you and your thugs."

"And isn't that the truth! I was just mentioning to our elders here, how you seem to have managed to disobey and disgrace the clan once again. Though I would wager this is your worst indiscretion yet, by far." He gestured to the two council members standing behind him and Neji realised why they were there. It wasn't his cousin who wanted to depose Hiashi and take over, it was two of the Elders – the two who Neji knew also hated him most. They had always disapproved of everything he did and had become increasingly vocal in the years since Neji, Hiashi and Hinata had reconciled and become close. Most of the verbal thrashings he received when summoned to this room where dished out by one or both of these men.

"I can't say I have any idea what you are talking about."

One of the elders stepped forward and addressed Neji angrily, "You know very well what he is talking about. And the fact that you think none of us would notice is simply arrogant. Exactly what I have always expected from you!"

"Hn," Neji would ordinarily not have much trouble ignoring such comments but this whole situation with Tenten, her physical state, and their relationship no longer being a secret between the two of them had left him feeling off-center and significantly shorter tempered than usual.

"You are insolent! You care nothing for your family and now you disgrace us with this whore!"

And there it was, that little trigger that set off a burning rage inside him that was almost uncontrollable. He could almost feel Shikamaru wincing in the hallway as he waited for his cue. "I suggest you watch your tongue, traitor. Or I may have to remove it for you…"

"You do not deny it?" the Elder hardly took any notice of the threat, looking equal parts enraged and disgusted.

"There seems little point in doing that…" Neji realised they must have only just found out about Tenten, otherwise they would have already dragged them both in here to face the entire council. He turned to his cousin assessing him as he asked the obvious question, "I assume you told them what you must have seen?"

"You assume correctly." As his cousin held the attention, Neji allowed the three associates to believe he didn't notice them slowly spreading out, preparing to attack him from all sides at once,

"And to think I would not have even known if she hadn't been standing outside the compound when I returned. Such unbelievable luck! But you know that and I expect you hid her; otherwise you wouldn't have come here alone. What were you going to do? Run? There is nowhere you can run where the clan won't find you, or her. Your child will be branded a slave just like its father!"

The second Elder obviously felt that the conversation might become circular from this point because he stepped forward to interrupt the two glaring young men, "Enough!" He turned to address Neji directly, an air of finality to his expression, "Your uncle and some of the weaker council members have been far too lenient on your rogue behavior for years, but it cannot be allowed to continue. You and this woman will both be dealt with and that will be the end of it."

Despite knowing that the encounter would go in this direction, indeed Shikamaru had planned for this, Neji still could not believe what he was hearing, "After which I suppose you plan to take over the clan and have everyone none the wiser to it?"

The same elder replied, seemingly interested in explaining his justification to Neji despite the obvious intention that he would not live to tell anyone about it. "Hinata is not strong enough to be leader of the clan. Your uncle has the rest of the council convinced but we are not fooled. She cannot be relied upon, but has always been under Hiashi's or your protection one way or another. Once you both are out of the way she won't be a problem. And the future of the clan will be assured. "

Neji saw his 'in' and replied with mock disinterest that he knew would irritate them, "I'm flattered that you're _afraid_ of me…"

"Not afraid; you may be the prodigy but you are ultimately just an arrogant boy with a grudge against the Main House. At least, that is what you will be remembered as when we tell the rest of the council about your horrible crime. It won't take much to make them believe that you murdered your uncle in your misguided quest for vengeance, and that we had to eliminate you to protect the rest of the clan…" At that the two elders moved toward a side door at the other end of the room leading to a rear exit and waved dismissively at Neji's cousin, "You know what to do."

As they departed, Neji became aware of the positioning and stance of the four remaining men. He was surrounded, though they did not move to attack him as his cousin began a monologue of his brilliant plan.

"Unfortunately as you can see, they only got part of the memo. You will die. The secrets of the Byakugan will be extracted from Hiashi and his mutilated corpse left as evidence of your insane vendetta. Your _woman_ will accompany these gentlemen on a one way trip where they will extract whatever secrets they see fit from her, one way or another, and when your child is born, they will kill her and raise a natural born, unsealed Byakugan user as their own personal weapon. All while I live comfortably in the glowing favour of the clan and the council for thwarting your evil plans – the new favourite."

He had just given them exactly the information they had been hoping for, though Neji doubted the council of elders would ever believe him if it weren't for Shikamaru listening outside.

"You really think you could get away with all of that?"

"I already have. Four against one isn't a fair fight, even for you. It's just a shame you wont get to see us drag that lovely little brunette out of the village unconscious and all alone. I'll make sure to say goodbye for you."

The visual that flashed through Neji's mind at that finally snapped his resolve. Without even realizing it he summoned his chakra into his hands and dropped into a defensive stance. His cousin did notice, however and he replied by mirroring Neji's stance, "Oh, there he is...finally the wolf comes out to play..."

Neji ignored his baiting comment, drawing a kunai as an afterthought as he added, "You wont make it past me."

An amused chuckle that reeked of confidence answered him as the four men around him began circling to remind him of their presence.

"No? theres still four of me and one of you.."

"Better make that two."


	19. Chapter 19

"_Better make that two."_

Shikamaru stepped into the room from the hallway beyond, and with the light was able to harness his shadow. Using his shadow imitation technique, he managed to pin the other three men and leave Neji with only his cousin. Neji realised he had control when the men stopped circling and stood as still as Shikamaru, and he took the opportunity to catch the other Hyuuga by surprise. There was a limit to the amount of time the Nara could hold multiple people with his shadow technique, but Neji was aware that they both lacked their usual stamina and speed as a result of the extended hours of surveillance. He had less than five minutes before Shikamaru was unable to hold them anymore.

Swiping out with his left hand as he stepped forward, Neji was blocked but feinted to the right only to swipe left again but with his foot. The two fell into a series of spiraling twists of blue chakra that looked something akin to an artistic dance routine. As one moved left, the other sidestepped. As the aggressor struck high, the defender dropped low. In his normal form, Neji would have outstripped the younger Hyuuga, but he lacked sleep and the evening's events, coupled with the understanding that he was now responsible for more than just his own safety or that of a team, had left him just a fraction less capable than he was used to. Despite this, Neji was the clearly superior fighter in strength and stamina, and while his cousin managed to land a number of painful but ultimately bearable blows, he was slowly tiring from the effort of constantly blocking and Neji simply had to wait out his stamina to prevail.

After the next rotation to his right, Neji saw an opening in his aggressor's stance and pressed forward to slam a chakra infused palm into his knee, forcing him to lose his footing and stumbled backwards. Neji followed rapidly with a series of moves that created a flurry of defensive blocks, but ultimately left him with the upper hand. He was about to knock his panting cousin down to his knees when he heard Shikamaru's voice,

"That's it, Neji. I can't hold them."

Shikamaru released the shadows of the three remaining men, two of whom immediately sought to engage him in combat, while the third went for Neji. The three accomplices were very capable but not as highly skilled as the ANBU captains, and Shikamaru wore down the two focused on him with far less effort than otherwise necessary. One had pulled out a knife, while the other, much bigger man appeared to be more comfortable relying on his hands and brute strength. They were both agile for their size and formidable in strength, indicating to the Nara that both men would be very capable brawlers in most fighting contexts.

Unfortunately for them, ANBU were a significantly more dangerous adversary than the average bar brawler and despite his diminished strength and stamina, Shikamaru immediately disarmed the first man of his knife by twisting his arm backwards and forcing him to release his grip. Slamming the edge of his hand into the thug's side, Shikamaru moved to attack the second man while the first doubled over gasping for air. He could hear the two Hyuuga in the background but was focused on his opponents. Moving between the two of them with as much speed as he could muster, he took down the first more easily, leaving him groaning weakly on the ground as he came down on the second man one last time.

He was quick but not quick enough, and as he dropped the second man's unconscious body to the floor he looked up to see that Neji was, for the second time, on the verge of disabling his cousin. Backed up to the wall with one arm hanging useless and immobilised by his side, Neji's cousin was all but finished if not for the third man. Shikamaru realised too late that Neji was so focused that even with his Byakugan activated, he had not seen the man line up a kunai right between the Hyuuga's shoulder blades. A frantic call of "Neji!" was all Shikamaru had time to get out in warning before it was thrown with deadly accuracy.

But the shrill sound of metal striking metal was the last thing anyone expected to hear and as the weapon fell uselessly to the ground, Shikamaru dispatched his remaining opponent with a hard hit to the head in time to look up and see Tenten in the doorway.

Deceptively pretty with her hair loose around her shoulders, her right arm extended and fingers relaxed from the perfect release of the projectile, Tenten retracted her hand slowly as she watched Neji turn to the sound of Shikamaru's call. His eyes widened when he saw her standing just inside the doorway, but he was still quick enough to catch the slight dip of her head to the left as she made to turn away. She changed direction at the last moment and as quick as Shikamaru could blink, Tenten had drawn another kunai, throwing again with her right hand at the exact moment that Neji dropped to his right, dodging her weapon and allowing it to imbed itself in the shoulder of his cousin standing behind him. The Hyuuga cried out in shock and pain but Neji and Tenten had already turned to attack the man who threw the kunai at Neji's blind spot.

Even with his Byukugan activated and focused on the attack, he would have missed that throw and he was aware how lucky he was that Tenten had arrived when she did. Ever since they were teenagers it had been Tenten who protected his blind spot, who always knew when he needed her, somehow. And despite his distress at seeing her here, their teamwork was as natural and familiar as breathing. They worked in complete harmony as they went on the attack, Neji forcefully thrusting a chakra infused palm flat into the man's chest as Tenten did a running slide to take his legs out from under him. She took Neji's other hand, which he had dropped in front of her as she slid under his arm, and used the forward momentum to pull herself up and into Neji's body as he turned toward her. She gave him a brief smile and they turned towards his cousin, preparing for a fight as Shikamaru secured the other men.

It was at that moment that the angrier of the two traitor Elders returned, possibly having heard the commotion, and quickly realised their plans had not gone as anticipated. He moved to stand before the cousin as he made a series of hand signs and suddenly Tenten felt Neji grasp her arm and collapse beside her. She looked down to see him gasping for air and holding his other hand to his burning head, and she knew immediately that the Elder had activated his curse seal. She froze for a split second in shock, having never seen it activated before but snapped back at the sound of his voice. The excruciating pain elicited a cry from Neji more terrifying than any sound Tenten had ever heard and she dropped beside him, as Shikamaru appeared at his other side.

"Not such a prodigy now are you?" the Elder snickered in satisfaction as he stood watching Neji collapsed on his knees, grasping at Tenten with one hand and trying to brace himself with the other as he gasped for air. When he was able to catch his breath it came out in an agonized whimper between screams. Tenten had no idea what to do to help and released him only slightly to stand and face the old man, a look of utter horror etched into her expression.

"What are you doing?!" The panic rose unsuppressed as Tenten realised she had no idea how long he might be able to withstand the activation of the seal.

"Stop it! You're going to kill him! Stop!" She half-yelled, half-sobbed over Neji, who cried out again as though trying to fight through the agony being inflicted upon him, managing only to rise to his knees.

"The intention always was to kill him you stupid girl, though I never wanted to have to get my own hands dirty. Clearly no one else was up to the job," his eyes surveyed the team of men who were now bound and unconscious, stopping on the other Hyuuga with a sharp nod before he started to walk away. Shikamaru had seen the old man turn away and released his friend's shoulder on impulse to cast out his shadow and stop Neji's attacker in his tracks. Preoccupied with restraining the elder, he barely heard Tenten yell out in panic as running steps sounded up the hallway, and Hinata and Hiashi burst in with Naruto and the rest of the Council in tow.

"Hinata! It's the curse seal, he's killing him…" she had unknowingly turned her back on Neji's other cousin as she watched Hinata make a split-second decision that went against every rule the clan upheld regarding the branch house. Making a series of gestures in rapid succession, as Tenten looked on, Hinata knelt beside him and removed the curse seal, negating its affects almost instantly and bringing a shocking and blessed silence from Neji. He took one slow breath before looking up just in time to see Tenten's whole body jolt and her mouth open in a gasp as her kunai, removed from her victim's shoulder and wielded against her, buried itself in the right side of her back before being removed and clattering to the floor.

She shuddered once and collapsed to her own knees as Neji acted on instinct and rose to his feet so fast that no one even saw him reach out and break the man's neck until he too collapsed to the ground. Neji was back in front of Tenten instantly, helping Hinata lay her down, while Hiashi assisted Shikamaru in restraining and removing the shadow-controlled Elder from the room. Neji made brief eye contact with Tenten for a moment before losing focus and he felt for a second that he had been stabbed in the chest. Tenten struggled to stutter out Neji's name as he quickly bound her wound, realizing it was bleeding too profusely to be stabilized without taking her straight to the hospital. The kunai must have hit something vital because the pool of red underneath her grew as though it were being poured from her body. Neji and Hinata wrapped his over shirt around her and tied it to put pressure on the wound before he slid his arms underneath her shoulders and knees to pick her up and rush her to Konoha's hospital. He watched her eyelids starting to drop and had to suppress his growing panic,

"Hey, Tenten. Stay with me…stay with me." She seemed to hear him but either couldn't respond or didn't try because all that came out of her mouth was strangled whimper.

"Come on babe, not like this…we are not going out like this…" she made eye contact with him that time but then her eyes slowly closed and her pale face relaxed into his chest.


	20. Chapter 20

The Konoha hospital was not particularly busy at the moment and Sakura, keen to head home and catch a few hours of sleep after a long night shift, was in the process of discharging the two injured shinobi when Neji Hyuuga burst through the door into the waiting room. Tenten was pale and unconscious in his arms, and it only took one quick glimpse of the blood covering both of them and the expression of unaltered fear on his face for Sakura to yell for a gurney. She went straight to Tenten, checking for a pulse and asking Neji for details as the gurney arrived and they transferred her to it.

"What happened?"

Sakura felt more than say his wince as he answered, "She was stabbed in the back with a kunai, we can't stop the bleeding."

Sakura nodded as Neji put Tenten down on the bed, but he seemed to have something more to say and she looked up at him as one of the other medics began wheeling the gurney towards the surgery room doors.

"Sakura, she…she's pregnant."

To her credit, the pink haired woman didn't really react to the shocking news of her friend's previously undisclosed condition, and simply nodded as she placed her hand gently on his arm,

"I'll do what I can."

And with that she had disappeared behind the doors with Tenten and the other medic. That had been over four hours ago, and while he had seen a number of people hurry in and out of the doors since, Neji had not had an update on Tenten's condition since arriving and it was starting to drive him mad. Shortly after he had arrived carrying her unconscious and bleeding body, Hinata, Naruto and his uncle had appeared quietly beside him. They simply watched for a few moments as Neji stood unseeing and still in the center of the room, his girlfriend's blood covering his front and dripping from his fingers by his side. It was Hinata who quietly approached him and suggested that he clean up. It took him a moment to process her comment before he took in what she was saying and looked down to see himself.

He must have looked terrifying to everyone else because the sight of so much of Tenten's blood on him was just about more than he could handle himself. He had seen her injured before, and she him, but never had he seen either of them bleed so profusely.

Having understood Hinata's request, Neji was about to comment that he had no other clothes and wasn't leaving when Shikamaru walked up beside them and handed him his training bag.

"I didn't think you would want to go home to get changed." He gave his friend a brief, supportive half-smile before handing him the bag and walking over to take a seat beside Hiashi and await news of Tenten's condition.

And that was how the past four hours had been spent. Neji had washed up and changed his clothes, throwing the bloodied ones in the bag to be disposed of later, and taken a seat between Hinata and Shikamaru. The group waited in silence, Hiashi and Shikamaru observing the movement of staff in and out and the passing of time on the wall clock opposite them, while Hinata sat quietly beside Naruto, who had his left arm draped around her shoulder and her right hand clasped in his as he whispered occasional reassurances to her. Neji caught the words _hope_ and _strong_ at one point but otherwise mostly ignored them. Eventually sitting down became more frustrating than helpful, and he stopped leaning his elbows on his knees and stood to pace in front of the empty chairs on the other side of the room. He could feel Hiashi and Shikamaru's eyes boring into the back of his head but he pointedly ignored them as he paced. He knew he should ask about what happened in the compound after he left and where the other traitor elder had disappeared to, or how the others had come to find them, but he felt as though all he were capable of was walking the same six foot line in the floor, back and forth, staring at the white tiles without even breathing until Sakura came back with news. When he realised she wasn't coming back anytime soon he finally steeled himself to look up, and the emotion of what he saw completely shocked him.

Hinata was leaning into her fiance's shoulder and while her expression was clearly hopeful, she had silent tears in her eyes that were spilling softly down her cheeks. Naruto wore a look equal parts anger and anguish, which didn't surprise Neji as he hated to see anyone hurting, especially Hinata or any of his friends. He had always been particularly fond of Tenten, as had Shikamaru. Said Nara was almost as unreadable in expression as Neji's uncle, both men sitting thoughtfully silent, Shikamaru with his elbows on his knees and head supported on his hands, Hiashi sitting in the same straight-backed pose he often took when refereeing stressful encounters between Neji and the clan Council. He made eye contact with his nephew and Neji realised suddenly that while he was pacing back and forth feeling utterly alone and barely able to function, the people who were most family to him were all sitting right there with him, hoping and worrying, with the exception of Lee.

As though a sign from the heavens, the green monster of Konoha himself rushed through the entry at that very moment, coming to a sudden stop when he saw them and moving directly to Neji. He was out of breath but whether from running or not Neji couldn't tell.

"What happened? I heard Tenten was attacked but no one could tell me any details…" he was almost frantic and something brotherly and protective in Neji kicked in at that point to snap him out of his solitude and force him to try to reassure or calm his old teammate.

"She was stabbed by a traitor in the clan Shikamaru and I were trying to apprehend. Sakura is in there with her but we don't know anything yet."

Lee's eyes widened slight at the explanation but he calmed somewhat knowing that Sakura was with her.

Shikamaru suddenly had a thought and he leaned forward and asked Neji quietly, "Did you tell her about…" he made a 'you know' sort of gesture with his head, "the ah…"

Neji leaned back against the wall with arms folded, tipping his head back and wincing as he closed his eyes and answered, "about the baby, yes…"

Lee's eyes turned comically wide as he looked from one man to the other and back in rapid succession, "Baby?! What baby? Whose baby?"

It was lucky that they were alone in the waiting room and his shocked yell didn't disturb someone.

"Mine," Neji opened his eyes and looked down at his ex-teammate, "and Tenten's, obviously."

"Oh Neji, I had no idea…" Lee's voice lowered and his expression softened.

"Neither did she until a few hours ago…" he felt a pang of guilt for that. If he had told her sooner maybe things would have happened differently and she wouldn't be here fighting for her life. Lee seemed to feel guilty too, though why he would was beyond Neji.

"I didn't even know the two of you were together. You never said anything and I never noticed any change between you." Oh, that's why. That definitely wasn't Lee's fault.

"It's okay, Lee. No one knew, except for Hinata. Though I suppose it doesn't matter now. Who knows what the council will do after tonight…"

"Well at least two of them won't be a problem." Shikamaru smirked slightly from his seat and leaned back to relax a little now that conversation had been started and everyone seemed a fraction less tense. Even if only a fraction. "We tracked both of them down and took them to Hokage tower after you left, so I think the council will have more important concerns tonight than your wayward personal life…"

Shikamaru was interrupted by the sudden movement of Hiashi, who had been as still as a statue up to that point, but stood now and gestured to Neji to join him.

"Speaking of which…Nephew, a word?"

A looking of concern passed between the three men but Neji nodded curtly before glancing back towards the surgery doors, where he kept desperately hoping to see Sakura's pink hair appear. Lee caught this and gave him a shooing gesture, "Do not fear, my youthful friend. We will wait for Sakura to bring us news."

Lee set himself in a sentry position standing in the corner, which would have been funny if the situation weren't so deadly serious, and Neji followed his uncle to the opposite corner of the room. The two men stood in mirror of one another, arms crossed and heads slightly bent as they conversed quietly, and even without their distinctive eyes, the familial resemblance was uncanny in that moment. Naruto, who had been unnaturally quiet and was still holding Hinata, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly, looked over her head to Shikamaru and Lee.

"What do you think they are talking about?"

Both men paused to think for a moment, glancing back at the pair, before Hinata sat up suddenly interested and provided the answer for them.

"Father is telling Neji that he isn't going to be punished for anything that happened tonight…last night, and that he has his blessing."

All three mouths dropped open before Naruto asked, "How on earth would you know that?"

Hinata smiled slyly for a moment before indulging them, "Tenten came looking for my father after Neji and Shikamaru left her last night. I bumped into her after having dinner with you…" she cast her gaze to Naruto, but missed the disapproving looks from Shikamaru and Lee that said 'that's a late _dinner_…' before continuing,

"She felt like something was wrong about the whole situation and that there had to be someone else on the inside. By the time we got to my father, he had already surmised who in the council might like to be rid of him and so we decided to come back in case the two of you needed help." She turned towards Shikamaru this time.

"He already knew about Neji and Tenten and their…situation…at that point…"

Shikamaru nodded, "He had to tell us when I found out Tenten was being offered up to _sweeten the deal_," he said the phrase as though it actually left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

Hinata made a face suggesting that she wasn't aware of that piece of information and continued, "Father told her that Neji was always a bit of a lone wolf and that he had always hoped he might find someone who was as good for him as Neji's mother was for his father. Tenten was shocked. She said that Neji never mentions his parents or their relationship much, and given the restrictions on his life and the fact that they couldn't have a real relationship, she tried not to bring it up." She glanced over at her father and cousin again and could see the surprise on Neji's face as he listened to his uncle.

"Father doesn't want Neji to miss out on having a family now like he did as a child – I don't think he remembers a lot about his parents these days. He told Tenten that if she can put up with Neji," Hinata smiled as she repeated his joking words, "and if it is what they both want, he won't let the council or anyone else stand in their way, especially given the circumstances."

"Alright Neji," commented Naruto in celebration, "it only took, like, a decade, a secret relationship, surprise pregnancy and clan uprising to get there, but get there he did!"

Shikamaru and Hinata rolled their eyes at his jokingly backhanded compliment but Lee gave him a high-five as they watched the two Hyuuga's return to them. Neji didn't say anything, but his expression was less brooding and he seemed somewhat less distressed than he had been in the last few weeks, despite the situation.

The early morning had brought a few more people through the building, and the rising sun had lifted the mood of the room a little simply by changing the atmosphere. They sat in silence again but it had taken on a decidedly more companionable feeling. It was less than five minutes after their conversation that Sakura finally appeared, holding the double doors open so the gurney could be wheeled through into one of the patient rooms, and Neji was standing before he even realised he had moved, Hyuuga eyes following what little he could see of Tenten down the hallway, despite knowing that only next of kin would be allowed to see her for the next few hours. He stopped in front of Sakura when she held her hand up to him and noticed the deep tiredness in her expression. She was absolutely exhausted and probably not in the mood to argue with him. She held a clipboard against her chest with one arm and ran a tired hand through her distinctive hair as she decided on her choice of words. That gesture alone froze him to the core with worry. Sakura looked at them all briefly then directed her attention solely to Neji.

"It took us a long time to stop the bleeding and she has lost an enormous amount of blood – we had to give her a transfusion – but other than that the damage was surprisingly limited. There will be a nasty scar on her back but with luck and a lot of rest she will recover physically within the next few weeks or so." She paused for a moment before adding, "She is unconscious, so she doesn't know yet but…we couldn't save the baby. I'm so sorry, Neji."

Sakura put a consoling hand on his arm as he sagged a little and gave a half-hearted nod to indicate he understood. He had sort of assumed when he saw how much blood Tenten lost that there wasn't much they could do regarding the baby – that they would lose it – and he was really more concerned that they didn't lose Tenten because if they did it wouldn't matter. Deep inside though, in a place he didn't really visit often, there was a sense of aching loss regardless that reminded him even though it was unexpected, he liked the idea of being a dad. Just another thing Tenten brought to his attention that he didn't know he wanted until she made it possible. And somehow all he did was get her hurt…

"Tenten might be out for a while and when she comes to she will be weak, but you can go and sit with her if you'd like."

Neji looked up in surprise at the offer, "I thought only next of kin were allowed in?"

"That's correct." Sakura's smile was dazzling despite her tiredness and her eyes showed a hint of mischievous inside knowledge, "Tenten has had you listed as her next of kin since she was seventeen, Neji."

He almost _heard_ everyone's mouths drop open at that. Sakura caught his eye, "I guess in some way she's always known what you both wanted…"

Neji couldn't help but return a smirk of his own as he nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess she has."


	21. Chapter 21

Tenten's first thought as she came back to consciousness was that she had never felt so utterly tired in her life. It was a bone deep kind of tired, more than just the result of too little sleep or too much physical exertion. She tried to open her eyes but even her eyelids were heavy and it took her a few moments before she could force them open to see her surroundings. Her memory was a little fuzzy but she recognized that she wasn't in the same place where she had fallen asleep. Asleep…no that didn't sound right…she wasn't asleep, she was unconscious. She was lying on her back in a comfortable enough bed but it ached, especially on her right side and she turned her head thinking she would roll over only to recognize a head of black hair resting beside her left hand.

Neji was slumped over in the chair beside her bed, head resting on the bed and hand on her stomach. His warm hand brushed the fingers of her right hand that rested there but carefully avoided the needle where a drip had been connected to get some fluids into her. He was frowning in his sleep but bolted awake when Tenten's memory of the previous night came flooding back and she gasped loudly in awareness.

It took a moment for him to place what had woken him but the genuine and unguarded smile that appeared on his face when he saw her awake was so stunning that she couldn't speak for a moment.

"Nice of you to rejoin us," his smile relaxed into a familiar smirk, albeit one with an underlying tension she couldn't miss, "how are you feeling?"

Tenten gave him a small smile of her own and shifted a little experimentally to test her pain level. The wound in her back throbbed but someone must have given her painkillers because it was a dull throb. Everything else ached but it was the lethargy she was having trouble shaking.

"Like I got run over by Naruto on the way to a ramen stand…" her voice was scratchy and foreign to her own ears but she heard him scoff lightly and looked down to see him rub his thumb across the fingers of her left hand that was stretched out towards him. He always did that when he was trying to be delicate about something or was overly worried about her.

He pulled away after a moment and reached for a cup of water on the bedside table, holding it to her mouth so she could take a few sips before he replied. He put the cup down and she felt his eyes appraise her as he spoke,

"After the night you have had I am surprised you don't feel worse."

She suddenly remembered everything that had happened and a look of sheer terror crossed her face as she strained to check him over for injuries of his own. He seemed unharmed aside from the exhaustion and distress evident in his face but there was still something not quite right about him.

"Oh Kami, Neji…what happened with your cousin? And the Elders? Was anyone else hurt?"

He held both hands up in a placating gesture to quiet her and leaned back in his chair, "It's okay, calm down. You were the only one of us injured. My _cousin_ stabbed you, but he won't be a problem anymore. I dealt with him."

Tenten recognized the tone of his voice and realised what that meant. She didn't ask for the details.

"Shikamaru and my uncle dealt with the two Elders and for the moment the Council has been dissolved. Hiashi exercised a rarely used power within him rights as clan leader and had the remaining Council members disbanded. Those who remained either share his views or respect his judgment enough to allow it, at least for the time being. I think they were as betrayed as the rest of us by the whole situation. Things will be quite different from now on."

That's when she noticed his what was wrong with his face and two things crossed her mind at once so she decided to ask the easiest first, "Neji your forehead," she took the effort to roll towards him and he leaned forward to allow her to brush her right hand over the now unmarked, bare skin above his brow, "the curse seal is gone."

He closed his eyes at the touch of her hand and simply nodded gently.

"How?"

Opening his eyes again, Neji raised his eyebrows as he answered conversationally, "Would you believe I am not the only person who goes snooping through old clan records? Hinata apparently worked out how to release the seal months ago, but didn't want to mention it until she was sure the council wouldn't simply brand me again if she released it. When she came in last night she figured it was better to release it and risk them doing it again than to just let it kill me. And according to my uncle it won't be going back on, I am officially free…" he smiled a little at her as he said those words for the first time.

He had been confused and shocked when Hiashi told him in the waiting room that he was not going to be rebranded with the curse seal. As it seemed, Hinata had pulled her father aside on the way to the hospital and quietly threatened that she would release it again if anyone decide to rebrand he cousin, and that the evenings events demonstrated perfectly what an outdated tradition it was. Neji had expected his uncle to be mad but Hiashi was almost amused as he recounted the interaction to him, and pleased to see his daughter put her foot down and demonstrate a sense of leadership and command. Neji had simply been pleased that Hinata saw fit to be his ally and to take the risk to support him.

"Free as a bird…" Tenten joked lightly as she watched him carefully, appreciating the ability to see his whole face now without that awful mark. She still felt weak, but her strength was slowly returning the longer she stayed awake and talking, "That is the best news I think I've ever heard. Congratulations…" she caught the sudden change in his facial expression and frowned when he didn't look ecstatic, "What?"

"It isn't all good news, unfortunately…" Neji ran a nervous hand over his face and back through his hair, unable to meet her eyes, and she knew instantly what he was going to say.

"The baby?"

He nodded jerkily. Neji had never expected that he would be so upset to lose something had hadn't really been aware of having in the first place, but faced with the idea of a family, of a glimpse of a life with Tenten, and now unbranded, he had would have relished the opportunity. And he couldn't suppress the gnawing guilt in his chest that no matter what he had tried, no matter how he looked at the evidence, the truth was that he had caused this loss and he had nearly allowed the most important person in his life to be killed because of him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and turned his head further away to avoid her gaze but she caught a look of shame cross his features as he did so.

"Hey, don't do that…I know what you're thinking, Neji. Look at me…" Neji didn't apologise often and when he did it was always with deep sincerity, but it broke Tenten's heart to this he felt responsible for the burden of their loss all on his own.

He turned back towards her but withheld eye contact and she was shocked to see tears in his eyes.

"Look at me," this time he did and she reached over to rub her hand up his forearm, "This is not your fault. None of this is your fault. You told me to stay put and I made a choice to do the opposite…it was _my_ decision and we both know that if I hadn't made it you would be dead. Sometimes it's my job to protect you, not the other way around, and we can't dwell on the what-ifs of the outcome. It happened and it's done now, but the important thing is that we are alive and together. Everything happens the way it is supposed to in the end, all we can do is to feel it, accept it and forward from here…"

He looked less distraught with that reassurance and even mustered up a brief smile in reply.

"I love you."

It was a simple statement, presented in his typically straightforward manner, no flourish of declaration or dramatic public spectacle, but it was absolutely perfect and the first time he had ever expressed it to her directly. Tenten grinned like a school girl despite herself and responded teasingly in mock shock, "I should hope so…you did call me 'babe' after all…"

Neji looked ridiculously embarrassed by that slip of the tongue in his distress and she reveled in the knowledge – he always hated and got that awkward irate twitch when Naruto called Hinata pet names. Tenten reached out for him even as he glared slightly before taking her hand. He eyed her with mock suspicion as he moved to climb up into the empty space beside her on the bed, careful to avoid the line in her arm by resting that hand on top of his chest as he laid back next to her.

"I think the blood loss must have addled your brain, babe…because I have no idea what you are talking about..."

He caught the beginnings of a smirk before she suppressed it, and allowed her to curl up with her head on his shoulder and drape her legs over his as he stretched out, "Well…it happens…" she conceded.

"Hn," he tilted her head up to plant a gentle but certain kiss against her lips that left her momentarily breathless, "Though I could be convinced to use that nickname if you were persuasive enough, I suppose…"

Tenten grinned conspiratorially and replied, "That sounds like a date Neji Hyuuga…your place or mine?"

"How about ours?"

She looked up at him and was surprised to see the he was serious underneath the banter. Hiashi mustn't have been kidding when he said he approved of their relationship, secret or not. Before she could reply Neji added,

"Assuming you are interested in sharing your apartment as more than just a safe haven for when I get into trouble with the clan…" he trailed off with a sly smirk.

Tenten pretended to consider the offer for a moment before linking their hands on top of his chest and closing her eyes contentedly.

"Oh, I'm sure we can work something out…"

3 MONTHS LATER…

The first flowers of spring had just started to bloom in the week before Hinata and Naruto's wedding, drenching the streets of Konoha in a myriad of colours and fragrances. Hinata savoured them as she strolled up the street watching the bustle of people in and out of the shops and homes shaded by the overhanging blossoms. It was a beautiful day, but all things considered it could have been a miserably rainy day and she still would have been in the most excellent mood of her life. This afternoon she would get married and she was so excited that she had been awake since four o'clock this morning with a stomach full of ecstatic butterflies. It probably would have seemed like a childish reaction to anyone else but a few years ago the possibility of Hinata being allowed to marry Naruto was so outrageous that she just couldn't quell her happiness at the way everything was working out so perfectly.

Even Naruto hadn't managed to get himself into any _real_ trouble. He had gotten fairly drunk with the boys a few nights ago and tried to climb into her bedroom window, despite the fact that she lived in a compound full of Byakugan users. Luckily or unluckily for Naruto, Neji had been out with them and intercepted him, however forcefully, before he could get himself busted by her father. Neji and Shikamaru had told Hinata not to worry and had kept an eye on him until he sobered up. Now Naruto was busy preparing for this afternoon's ceremony, leaving Hinata with time to spend the morning running some errands before Ino and Sakura arrived to do her hair and makeup. Crossing the street, she turned right at the corner and started up a familiar set of stairs.

Neji was sitting at his desk finishing off his most recent mission report and glanced out the window and beyond the flower laden tree branches to see Hinata walking up the street with a broad smile on her face. He allowed himself a genuine smile at her expression before putting down the scroll – he was gone for almost a month, the report could wait another day. Finishing his tea and rolling his shoulders before he pushed the chair back, Neji arrived at the door just as Hinata knocked. She looked surprised that he answered so quickly but smiled at him and entered when he stepped back to invite her in.

"Good morning, Neji."

"Good morning, Hinata. I wasn't expecting you to be out so early today." He gestured for her to take a seat on the couch as he leaned against the kitchen counter with his arms folded casually across his chest. Hinata's eyes flickered to his wrist and the light bandage wrapped around it before roaming quickly over his body, clad in loose t-shirt and pants, noticing no additional injuries. She looked up at him again,

"I had some errands to run…and was too excited to sleep," she blushed a little but continued talking, "I didn't realise you were injured on your last mission…"

Neji smirked at her blush and replied with a shake of his head, "No, my last mission was a success and there were no injuries. This," he indicated his hand, "was Tenten's doing."

Hinata's eyebrows raised and she gave him a confused facial expression before he elaborated, while examining his bandaged left hand.

"We went to our old training ground yesterday for a morning session and one of her kunai got past me near the end. It wasn't a bad cut but she insisted on dressing it..." he was interrupted by Hinata's pleased interjection.

"She is back training?" He nodded.

"When I went on my last mission she had just started doing exercises with Lee and Shikamaru but yesterday we did a full training session and she caught me off guard." His expression suggested he was withholding something from her and Hinata picked up quickly what it might be.

"I take it she caught you going easy on her?" she questioned with a knowing smirk.

"Hn," Neji avoided eye contact but she thought he suppressed a smirk as he turned his face away guiltily.

"Well I suppose that will teach you," giggled Hinata. Her good spirits were further buoyed knowing that Tenten was almost recovered from her injury a few months earlier. Her facial expression turned sincere, "It's good to hear she is back training again."

Neji nodded his agreement.

"It will take a while before her endurance is back to normal but she was going crazy with having to take it easy."

"I bet she is feeling it this morning though…"

"Actually, I think she is still asleep. She'll want to know you are here though, so let me go and check."

Neji disappeared down the hall and into the bedroom, quietly walking up to the side of the bed where Tenten was laying stretched out with her face buried in her pillow. Her wavy hair covered her face and her arms and legs were thrown out at angles that took up the maximum available space. Neji knelt on the side of the bed and leaned down to speak gently to her obscured face,

"Ten, wake up. Hinata is here." He touched her arm but she had sensed him, even half asleep, and simply mumbled an excuse about it being early before turning her head further into the pillow. He sat back and tried an annoying method of getting his girlfriend's attention that had worked ever since they were teenagers. Reaching down past her knees to the bedsheet covering her feet, Neji pulled it up until her feet were exposed, letting the pleasant but still cool spring breeze coming through the window wash over her exposed extremities and send a shiver up her spine. Tenten reacted just as he expected and rolled to he side, pulling her knees up to keep her feet covered and opening her eyes sleepily to glare at Neji from under her bangs.

"What does a girl have to do to get a little sleep around here?" she closed her eyes again as Neji reached over to brush her hair out of her face so he could see her expression.

"Apparently not a lot – it's eight in the morning, Tenten…" he was interrupted by her suddenly sitting bolt upright beside him and looking around.

"Eight in the morning?!" she noticed the light pouring in through the bedroom window and realised he was telling the truth. "What is going on with that? I never used to sleep in this late but ever since…" she trailed off before explicitly mentioning her stay in the hospital after she was stabbed. They had talked about it a few times since she came home but for the most part neither of them was particularly keen to bring up Tenten's near death experience and the loss of their child that she had been carrying at the time. After she had been released, the two of them had taken some time to talk through Neji's feelings of guilt over what happened and the changes that affected Tenten as she recovered. She hadn't been allowed on any missions yet but was due to be reviewed for return to active duty in a fortnight's time. As well as the frustration with being restricted in her activities, she'd had some nightmares and smiled a lot less in the initial weeks after she came home. Things were almost back to normal again now though, excluding her inclination to sleep later than usual.

"Sakura said it would take you some time to get back to your normal routines, didn't she?" Neji replied casually but she saw him run a critical eye over her anyway.

"Yeah, but I still feel kinda…off, physically. Like I'm not quite myself again yet. I dunno…" She shrugged and scrunched up her nose at her less that articulate explanation, but Neji smirked and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

"Well I would happily help you feel more _physically_ yourself…" his lips moved to her neck before he pulled back to look at her again, "but Hinata is still in the lounge room and she is more excited about today than I can handle alone."

She knew Neji was joking, as their physical relationship was another routine that they hadn't gotten back on track with yet – that was the most forward he had been since she got home. Tenten smirked and shooed him off the bed so she could get up and throw on her robe, "Okay, I am coming."

Neji headed back towards the lounge and Tenten was barely a few steps behind, combing her fingers through her hair quickly so she looked mildly presentable. Hinata was looking around the room with a curious expression on her face and didn't look the least bit concerned with her friend's state of dress.

"Hey Hinata. So today is the big day…everything must be going pretty close to plan if you have time to be out and about town." Tenten smiled at her enthusiastically as she swung by the kitchen for a cup of coffee on her way over to join Hinata on the couch. Neji busied himself with cleaning and drying the dishes while Tenten sat down beside Hinata, not particularly interested in wedding related details.

"Yes…I don't want to jinx myself because there are still plenty of hours in the day for Naruto to get himself into who-knows-what other trouble," Hinata and Neji shared a knowing glance and Tenten recalled him mentioning something about Naruto trying to drunkenly break into the compound a few nights ago. Hinata looked back at her friend again, "But so far everything is going just perfectly so I thought I would come and see you before I have to get ready. I have been meaning to come and see you for a couple of weeks now but I just haven't had the chance to get away with all the changes and meetings after the council was dissolved…Neji said you are back at training?"

Tenten nodded, sensing Neji shift behind her as he brought Hinata a cup of tea, leaning past Tenten to hand it to her before taking Tenten's empty coffee mug and disappearing again.

"Oh thanks, Neji." Hinata replied as he turned away and locked eyes again with Tenten, a slightly surprised expression on her face.

"Yeah I have a review soon and I _really_ want to get back to work so now that I am fully healed it's just a case of getting my form back. Felt good to spar after so long…" she paused as Neji returned with her refilled coffee mug and placed it in her hand, brushing her fingers with his as he excused himself quietly.

"I'm going to take a shower," Tenten nodded and smiled at him in thanks and he looked over to give his cousin a brief nod before retreating up the hallway to leave them alone, "Hinata."

"Bye Neji, see you this afternoon." Hinata watched for a moment as he disappeared and then leaned forward conspiratorially, "Does he do that a lot?"

The knowing grin on Tenten's face suggested she knew exactly what Hinata was talking about but she clarified anyway, "You mean being _domestic_?"

Hinata nodded with wide eyes, "I have never seem him look so comfortable with the whole 'being at home' thing. He is so relaxed…"

"Yeah, to be honest I was kind of surprised when it first happened too. He was so quiet and withdrawn the first couple of weeks that I thought maybe he regretted moving in – he is so used to being on his own, we both are really – and I wasn't very good company not being able to do much but lie around when I first came home."

Tenten took another sip of her coffee as she gestured casually toward the sound of the running shower, "But once he stopped feeling responsible for everything and I got up and moving again, we reorganized the furniture and I guess he relaxed because it's like he is a totally different Neji."

"He let you move furniture?" Hinata raised a delicate eyebrow.

"No, he made me sit and direct while he moved everything even though it was my idea. I thought it would make the apartment feel more like _ours_ than _mine_ but he didn't really mind where anything went…except for the desk. He was very specific that his desk should be in the lounge room and face the window." Both women looked over to the offending article of furniture, which admittedly look very inviting sitting under the morning sun with a blooming tree just outside the window. "I can barely pry him away from the stupid thing but it makes him happy, so…" she shrugged and took another sip.

"Well it's nice to see him so unburdened…" Hinata looked at Tenten again, "and you look pretty relaxed and happy yourself. You would hardly guess you have had time off."

"Yeah, for sure. Other than the slightly wonky body clock I am a hundred percent. To be honest I just keep thinking how lucky we were that it all turned out he way it did," Hinata tilted her head to the side in question but remained quiet.

"There are a thousand ways that the investigation could have gone wrong if Neji or Shikamaru had made slightly different decisions, or if I hadn't come looking for Hiashi, and for all we know it might have ended with one or all three of them in body bags and me being held captive who-knows-where."

She brushed her bangs away from her face and smiled gently at her friend, "Given the circumstances, I think everything worked out just as it was meant to and definitely better than it otherwise might have."

"I like to think you are right," Hinata responded with a nod, "and speaking of things working out well…I know you were going to get ready here and come over this afternoon but since you are so sick of sitting around home and I need another level head to mediate between Sakura and Ino, why don't you bring your stuff to the compound and get ready with me?"

"Are you sure there aren't going to be too many people rushing around the compound already? I don't want to get in the way…"

"Nonsense! I would love to have you there, and Ino would love a chance to do your hair again, I'm sure."

They both laughed and Hinata took their cups to the kitchen to wash while Tenten retrieved her bridesmaid's dress and other accessories from the bedroom. She left a quick note for Neji on his desk and the two women headed off for a morning of makeup, dresses, and wariness of Ino's love for hot irons and tongs.

* * *

><p>The wedding was stunning. Everything about it was beautiful from the weather, to the garden in the compound that served as venue, to ceremony and even Naruto's damp eyes when he saw Hinata in her wedding dress. Tenten had thoroughly enjoyed the entire event, as much for the opportunity to be out with all of her friends as for the spectacle of the wedding itself. Neji had insisted that it was simply a result of the Hyuuga tendency to require everything to be a lengthy ceremonial affair, the more dramatic the better, but she also noticed a small smile grace his features a couple of times, when he thought everyone was focused on the bride and groom.<p>

Despite everything that had happened in both the cousins' lives, Neji and Hinata had developed a deep and lasting affection and respect for one another, and Tenten knew he was secretly very pleased to see her so happy. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as they made their way through the quiet, almost-dark village streets to their own home. Neji was holding her hand, something they had only started doing recently but that he had seemed instantly comfortable with, despite his general aversion to public displays of affection. Tenten was generally affectionate whether he liked it or not and was still reveling somewhat in the ability to be so open, now that they didn't have to keep their relationship secret. Despite this newfound freedom and the lack of anyone walking near them, there was a definite tension radiating through his body and she wondered at what it could be. Pivoting so that she was walking backwards in font of him she turned her hand so that just their fingers were touching,

"Naruto loves her, you know Neji. He will take good care of her."

He seemed surprised by her comment but nodded as they made eye contact, partially focused on Tenten and partially focused on the path behind her.

"I know."

"So why the tension? I thought you had a nice time?" her brows knitted together in a frown as she tried to discern what else might have been bothering him about the otherwise enjoyable wedding.

A smirk flashed across Neji's face at his girlfriend's display of concern and he pulled her back so that she was facing forward as they reached the stairs to the front door, pulling his own key out of his pocket – an action that still brought him a strangely satisfied feeling.

"The wedding was fine, I enjoyed it." He unlocked the door and ushered Tenten in ahead of him.

"Sooo…"

"Sooo…nothing. I am not tense, just…" he trailed off without being able provide an explanation and Tenten was shocked to realise that the ever eloquent Hyuuga couldn't figure out what he wanted to say. She stopped and turned to him, forcing Neji to halt as the door closed behind him.

"Spit it out, Hyuuga." Her tone was light and mocking but he caught the underlying concern as well.

"…" he opened his mouth to start to explain but suddenly closed it again, turning to look into the steadily darkening lounge room.

"Is it being here? Or the public affection thing? Because I don't mind if you don't want…" Tenten was cut off by Neji's lips pressed gently but firmly against her own, catching her off guard as her eyes slid shut and her hands reached to wrap around the back of his neck automatically. He encouraged her closer with his hands on her hips but leaned back to regain some distance when they broke apart.

"I love you. And I love people knowing it, and living with you," she relaxed into his chest upon hearing his response but her confused expression returned.

"But I still wake up sometimes wondering if today is the day you realise I'm not worth the pain I cause you. And as selfish as it is, I miss you…"

Tenten could feel his eyes on her but she directed her frown to where her hands had settled flat against his chest as she considered her response. After a moment she looked up to meet his opalescent white eyes,

"Neji, we have been together in one manner or another for most of our lives…for better or worse, I've made my decision and I don't regret it being you." She pressed her hands gently to the sides of his face, thumbs brushing his temple, "If we didn't have to go through the bad stuff, we wouldn't be able to feel the good stuff. That is just life."

This time she leaned up on her toes to kiss him, pulling away to add, "I don't know why you would miss me though…you've been stuck with me 24/7 since your last mission…"

Neji couldn't help but give her a once over with his penetrating Hyuuga eyes before smirking and pointedly answering, "I meant a _different_ kind of _missing_ you…"

He watched her expression morph from befuddled to cocky despite the blush that crept over her cheeks at his implication, and she gave him a sly grin as she wound her arms close around his neck and tossed her loose hair back over her right shoulder, "Well why didn't you say anything before you went on your mission?"

Neji shrugged slightly and leaned in close enough that their lips were almost touching, "I didn't know if you were ready to go there again, and I didn't want to push."

Tenten huffed inelegantly and closed the distance to kiss him again, lingering as she pulled him more forcefully against her.

"When have you _ever_ not been pushy? I was waiting for you to make the first move so I guess we both have some lost time to make up for." She felt more than saw the smirk on his face as he pressed his lips against hers with increasing force, reaching down to her thighs to boost her up and carry her down the hallway.

"Hn, I guess so."

Neji only made it a few steps before Tenten pulled away to ask in mock innocence, "How wild are you feeling?"

"What do you have in mind?"

Tenten's expression was utterly seductive for someone trying very hard not to grin and she massaged her fingers against the nape of his neck enticingly.

"Well that desk of yours is kinda new…." She almost laughed at the mixed expression on his face, part insanely turned on and part utterly horrified that she wanted to desecrate his new favourite possession. Apparently turned on won. He shook his head with a grin and redirected them towards his new desk.

"Anything you want, babe."

THE END


End file.
